A Ripple in the Ocean
by noomma
Summary: CH 14 is up! Quiet,shy,clumsy and sweet,you are Sakuno Ryuzaki. Welcome to the MiniBazaar! Fight's over, now what?
1. Secret Under the Sakura

**Small Ripple in Still Waters**

**Author's Notes (1):** For disclaimer, see my description

**Author's Notes (2):** All knowledge about Japanese culture and language comes from all the anime that I watch and the stuff I can find on the Internet. This all means that other than the usual words and phrases, I know squat about it, so please forgive the mistakes. I'll try to not make too many cultural references so not to offend anyone.

**Author's Note (3):** This is a series of one-shots mainly involving Sakuno in some way, whether she shows up in person or not.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Secret under the Sakura**

Seishun Academy Middle School.

A school known for its distinguished academic records but was more known for its prowess at sports, especially that of its young male tennis team, the Seigaku Tennis Club and in particular, its youngest member, first year, Ryoma Echizen.

As the sun glared down on the scenic campus on the unusually warm April afternoon, a small figure made its way towards the copse of cherry blossom trees surrounding the small pond.

'This looks like a good spot' Ryoma thought as he looked up at the trees that provided ample shading then at the sparkling pond. He gave in a moment to appreciate the picturesque view then shrugged. Throwing his book bag down to use as a pillow, he stretched his arms as he gave out a mighty yawn.

As he started to lay himself down on the soft grass, he mentally reviewed the tiring day. To be quite honest, if it had nothing to do with tennis, food or his beloved cat, Karupin, he really wasn't interested. Most of the time he could maintain a façade of interest in his classes, but today it seemed was something that was just too hard to do. Thank heavens that his last class was cancelled because his teacher had an emergency, he didn't think that he would have lasted if it wasn't. 'Think I'll just sleep here until practice starts.'

And with that, the young tennis player promptly fell asleep.

* * *

'Mou, where could he be?' Sakuno Ryuzaki thought as she ran around the school campus looking for Ryoma. She slowed as she neared the back of the campus. 'I swear he's like cat- he only shows up when he wants to'

Sakuno sighed in frustration again as she crossed her arms and thought about where the young prince of tennis could be. He wasn't with Momo-sempai or with Horio-kun, Katsuo-kun or Kachihiro-kun. He wasn't in the cafeteria, the library, the roof and the tennis courts. Nor was he practicing against the back wall of the school or by the soda machine- Ryoma had simply disappeared and escaped from school without a trace. Whimsically, she smiled as she thought, 'Maybe we should just call him Houdini instead of the other names'

Shaking her head at the thought, Sakuno sighed, "I could always tell Oishi-sempai that I couldn't find him at all." Then she snorted lightly at the thought. "Right. And by tomorrow I'll be a full-fledged tennis pro. Now where could he be? If I was Ryoma-kun and not in my usual spots and I had a free period and it was a sunny day, where would I go?'

She blinked as she thought of an answer to that question. "The pond!"

* * *

Filled with a new determination and her braids flying behind her, Sakuno started towards the little slice of heaven located at the back of the campus.

"Oi, Inui, have you seen Echizen?" called out a voice in the middle of a crowded hallway. Sadaharu Inui turned around to look at his fellow classmate and team co-captain, Syuichiroh Oishi. "I have a message from Ryuzaki-sensei for him. I sent her granddaughter and Osakada to find him- but so far neither girl has found him yet."

"I haven't seen him yet," Inui said as he shook his head, his glasses gleaming. "But since his teacher left early and it's a sunny day, there's a ninety-five percent chance that he's outside and an sixty-eight percent chance that he's sleeping under a shaded area and a twenty-six percent chance of him practicing by himself against the wall."

"Then I suppose that I should go outside and start looking for him under the trees," Oishi sighed as he scratched his head.

"I have a better idea, Oishi," Inui said as he whipped out a pair of binoculars from under his jacket. His glasses gleamed in anticipation. "Let's go to the roof and scan the campus grounds to look for him."

"Uh, right," Oishi smiled as he felt a huge drop of sweat drop from his head.

* * *

Sakuno sighed as she felt the cooling breeze from the pond gently caress her face. Instinctively she lifted her face up to the sun and smiled as she savored the warmth of the sun. The sun sparkled merrily on the clear water of the small pond and she could see a couple of squirrels scampering to and fro, bringing a small sigh of satisfaction out from Sakuno's lips as she enjoyed the view. 'It really is a beautiful day. The sun is shining, the wind is blowing, the squirrels are playing, the birds are singing, someone is snoring…'

Blinking at that thought, Sakuno frowned. "Wait a minute…sun shining, wind blowing, squirrels playing, birds singing and…"

Sakuno turned slightly to her right and saw- "Ryoma-kun snoring."

Smiling as she shook her head in slight exasperation, Sakuno quietly approached the sleeping young tennis genius under the sakura trees and knelt beside him. She hesitated as she watched him sleep soundly. "Ryoma-kun? Ryoma-kun?"

As a small snore escaped from his lips, she let out a small giggle. She never imagined that Ryoma was a snorer. Her eyes softened as she marveled at how innocent and sweet he looked as he slept. 'He looks so cute! Like a sleeping prince! He has such long eyelashes!'

When he let out another snore, one louder than the last, Sakuno shook herself to attention. She tentatively reached for his shoulder. "Ryoma-kun? Ryoma-kun? It's time to wake up now."

Sakuno gently touched his face with her fingers and marveled how different his skin felt from hers. She watched as her fingers traced his cheekbone to his soft lips. Her finger gently, slowly traced his lips. 'They feel so soft…I wonder…'

'What would it be like to kiss him?'

Sakuno blinked at her wayward thought then flushed red to the roots of her hair. Snatching her hand back and squeezing her eyes shut, she shook her head. 'Stop that Sakuno! Stop! You can't think that!'

'Why not? It's not like anyone's around or that he's awake. Don't you want to kiss those soft lips with yours?' whispered a tiny, hopeful voice in her head. Sakuno scowled. She could practically see the small devil version of herself sitting on her shoulder. It was the same little devil in her that said it was okay to eat the last chocolate frosted custard doughnut or to go and play in the summer rain.

'I don't want him to be asleep if I kiss him' Sakuno thought fiercely as she gripped the hem of her skirt. 'I want him to be awake when I have my first kiss!'

'But there's nothing wrong with practice, is there? Look at him- he wouldn't know. He's sound asleep! And he's still snoring!'

Sakuno opened her eyes to see that Ryoma was still sleeping… and snoring. Loudly. She looked at him hard. 'It wouldn't be fair, would it? I mean what if he wants to have his first kiss when he's awake too? Isn't one's first kiss very important?'

'Have you ever heard of a guy talking about his first kiss?' her little devil argued. 'Did Oyaji or the cousins ever say that a man's first kiss was important?'

'No, but that still doesn't mean that it wouldn't be important to Ryoma-kun!'

'Would you rather have your first kiss with Horio-kun?'

Sakuno felt herself visibly recoil at the thought of kissing Horio-kun.

'So is this chance to kiss Ryoma-kun' her little devilish self said as she shrugged. 'It's just like Papa and Obaachan and Obaasan both say, you have to do your best with the opportunities that you're given. If you think it's still bad, think of it just as practice.'

"Practice? Kissing?"

'Yeah, practice kissing for when the two of you start dating and he declares his love for you.'

'Now I know that I'm going delusional' Sakuno thought as she rolled her eyes. 'Even my inner devil can't stop teasing me'

Sighing, Sakuno looked at the sleeping tennis prince. His face was totally relaxed and unguarded as he snored among the fallen sakura blossoms. He really did look cute sleeping. Suddenly she wished she had a camera to take a picture of him- a picture of just him looking like this.

'A picture of Ryoma-kun just for me. One that I wouldn't have to share with Tomo-chan,' Sakuno suddenly thought. Then she promptly felt ashamed of herself. Especially since the other bubbly and energetic girl was her best friend. She loved her friend dearly, but there were times, in her darkest moments, when she resented Tomo-chan because though she was the one that had met Ryoma-kun first it was Tomo-chan that always grabbed his attention before she could. How she wished that she would be the first to say something, do something that would make Ryoma-kun notice her first.

"But how do you change a violet into a rose?" Sakuno asked aloud as she looked at Ryoma's sleeping face. She sighed as she pulled a hair away from Ryoma-kun's face. She bit a lip and debated with herself then nodded. She closed her eyes as she spoke softly to him. "Ryoma-kun… I really don't know how to tell you this and I really am thankful that you are asleep. I want you to know that I really do like you a lot, Ryoma-kun. And it's not just because you're a prince of tennis. Ever since I met you that day, when you stopped Sasabe-san from swinging that racket in my face- I wanted know everything about you. I want to know what you like, dislike; what makes you happy or sad or angry. I want to know everything about you, Ryoma-kun because I really do like you."

Sakuno opened her eyes and smiled sadly. "And I wish I were brave enough, daring enough to tell you this while you are awake but I can't. Like you would say- 'Mada mada dane'. But until I am ready, I hope that you will let me stay by your side and let me cheer you on. What do you say to that, Ryoma-kun?"

Sakuno smiled when he merely snored even louder, his face getting redder as he snored. "Domo arigato, Ryoma-kun. You are very kind… and I just have another small confession to make- I just want to say ano, I'm very sorry that I even thought to try and steal your first kiss from you under the sakura while you were sleeping. I won't take it just in case it is important to you but-"

Sakuno bent down and kissed him on the cheek. When she lifted her lips, she felt her cheeks feel very hot. She immediately bowed down "That was just a thank you, Ryoma-kun. But I do hope that someday, you would be my first real kiss."

She giggled softly when he shifted to his side, facing away from her and let out a really big snore. "Ano you seem to be very tired, Ryoma-kun. Well, you just keep sleeping- I'll go tell Oishi-sempai that you are here. Please don't go anywhere- I don't want to start looking for you all over again."

With that, Sakuno got up to her feet- delighted that she was able to confess to him that she liked him, even though he was asleep. She looked up at the sakura tree and smiled. Her shoulders felt lighter, the sun seemed brighter and the sweet sent of sakura floated on the breeze. She giggled as she leaned on the trunk of the tree- Sanada Jiji-san always said that there were wonderful nature spirits all around and they could always keep secrets when asked and tell when not. Shaking her head at her whimsy, she smiled as she looked down on Ryoma-kun's sleeping face then at the tree. "I think that someday soon I'll tell him when he's awake. For now, it'll be just my secret under the sakura."

* * *

Oishi sighed as he stood behind Inui who was slowly scanning the campus grounds with his binoculars. "Well, did you find anything?"

"Tanaka from class 3-1 is having a bento with Yamada, Midori from class 2-1 under the pine trees near the back of the tennis courts; Sano, Ichiro and Aoi from class 2-6 are practicing their kendo moves in front Minami from class 2-5 and Shino from class 2-1 near the sakura copse," Inui reported as he moved slowly, scanning everything in a methodical way. "And-"

Covering his eyes, Oishi shook his head. "That's not what I'm talking about- wait a minute, Tanaka is eating lunch with Yamada, Midori from class 2-1? I thought he was seeing Honda from class 3-5?"

"I guess you didn't hear. They had a huge fight at the Heisei Tea House when he caught her seeing someone from Meio Academy and she caught him with Yamada yesterday," Inui reported. A movement caught his eye- hmm, the female stood over a male body. Hmm, both looked familiar. Inui sharpened the focus on his binoculars. Ah, yes. It was the coach's granddaughter, Ryuzaki Sakuno, and she had a huge smile on her face. And the boy on the ground was- "Ah, I have found Echizen and Ryuzaki. She's starting to towards the school but it seems that she is allowing Echizen to continue his nap-"

"Arigato, Inui," Oishi said as he walked towards the roof door. He opened it to let them both off the roof, but Inui simply stayed where he was. "Ah- aren't you coming down?"

"In a moment, I wish to gather more data now that I am up here," Inui said smoothly. His brow knitted as he saw Echizen touch his cheek as soon as Ryuzaki was no where near by. "I'll be down in ten minutes."

Oishi felt a sweat drop on his head at Inui's spying. "Well then, I'll see you on the courts. Don't be late for practice or else Tezuka will make you do laps."

"I won't be late," Inui said absently as he kept his focus on Echizen who was now sitting up and looking quite disturbed. He magnified his binoculars a bit more. 'Now why was the boy pretending to be asleep?'

* * *

As soon as her footsteps faded away, a pair of golden eyes popped open and a hand lifted and touched the cheek that had been kissed. The boy slowly sat up as he continued to caress his cheek. He didn't know what made him wake up nor did he know what it was that told him to stay very still as soon as he was vaguely aware that someone was next to him.

And when he realized that it was the coach's granddaughter, Ryuzaki, he made more of an effort to stay still in hopes of her going away and leaving him alone. Because he knew, he just knew that the moment he would wake up, Ryuzaki's loud friend, Osakada, would come barreling at him and loudly embarrass the crap out of him again. And he really didn't want that.

Then he heard her soft voice say her confession and he wanted to die of embarrassment on the spot. And then she kissed him. On the cheek. He nearly bolted up and would have run from the spot had he not been so surprised at Ryuzaki's boldness. Instead he forced himself to pretend to still be sleeping and snoring. Mada mada dane, what the hell was he going to do now? He winced because he could still hear her. "This did not just happen."

"_Ryoma-kun… I really don't know how to tell you this and I really am thankful that you are asleep. I want you to know that I really do like you a lot, Ryoma-kun. And it's not just because you're a prince of tennis. Ever since I met you that day, when you stopped Sasabe-san from swinging that racket in my face- I wanted know everything about you. I want to know what you like, dislike; what makes you happy or sad or angry. I want to know everything about you, Ryoma-kun because I really do like you."_

"Oh, man," Ryoma moaned as he buried his face in his hands as his cheeks felt hot. He rubbed the spot where he felt Ryuzaki's warm lips.

"_And I wish I were brave enough, daring enough to tell you this while you are awake but I can't. Like you would say- 'Mada mada dane'. But until I am ready, I hope that you will let me stay by your side and let me cheer you on."_

"Maybe I should have woken up then," Ryoma muttered as he felt his ears start to burn.

"_I just have another small confession to make- I just want to say ano, I'm very sorry that I even thought to try and steal your first kiss from you under the sakura while you were sleeping. I won't take it just in case it is important to you but-"_

"I seriously did not need that confession," Ryoma muttered as he closed his eyes and shook his head. "Or that kiss."

He simply did not need that kiss because it shook him more than anything else. What the heck was she thinking of, kissing him? And on the cheek no less! All because she didn't want to steal his first kiss from him while sleeping. So why even bother kissing him at all? If you were going to steal a kiss from someone, you might as well go all out.

Ryoma's eyes widened at that thought and violently shook his head. "I am not thinking that! I am not baka Oyaji! Focus, Echizen- what the hell are you supposed to do now?"

He scowled as he turned his mind to the present problem- mainly, Ryuzaki's confession. He violently shoved all thoughts of her warm kiss away from his mind. Her confession was a major problem; mainly because there was no way that he could ignore her presence without the sempai-tachi getting on his case and without possibly offending his coach and violently hurting her female feelings, something he was loathe to do. There was absolutely no way that he could do what he had done in the past.

Normally, when a girl confessed that she liked him, he would just blink and ask why and then say he was too young to like any girl and ignore her most of the time. Or if she were overly aggressive, he'd be brattier than usual. Then said girl would spend her time avoiding him after that and then leave him to the things he really was interested in: his tennis, cat and food.

But this was Ryuzaki who confessed her liking of him. He couldn't do what he normally would. If he ignored her more than usual or was bratty towards her; there would be trouble in the form of sempai-tachi, namely Momo, Kikumaru and Fuji. If he paid attention to her, trouble would come in the form of the girl herself as well as the sempai-tachi.

"Yare, yare. Is there a solution?" Ryoma scowled. No matter how you served the ball, he was screwed in one way or the other. "How the hell am I supposed to deal with her now?"

It wasn't that he didn't find her cute in a sort of clumsy, shy, caring, sweet sort of way. He didn't mind her sweetness towards him; it got him more than a few cakes and free meals from her. And to be honest, he really didn't want to be mean to her. After all, she was only guilty of liking him and wanting to know more about him. She wasn't a nuisance for him like most of the other fan girls who were sometimes positively nuts in trying to grab his attention.

But he just didn't have patience for her acute shyness or clumsiness and sometimes her caring caused him more embarrassment than anything else- especially when it was in front of the team, though it wasn't as embarrassing as Osakada's outright cheers and signs in the hallways.

He winced at the thought of Osakada. There was another reason he definitely couldn't ignore Ryuzaki more than usual or hurt her feelings. If he did then Ryuzaki would avoid him and then no one would rein Osakada in from her more outrageous antics. He swore that the even the British in Wimbledon could hear her hollering- "Ryoma-sama! Ryoma-sama!" It really was bad of Ryuzaki to do this to him.

"Why the hell did she have to confess? And why the hell did she have to kiss me?" Ryoma scowled as he ran his fingers through his hair. That really was bad of her. He was fine in not knowing that she liked him, he was fine being oblivious. And for some reason, he was not fine being aware that she liked him. "I have no time for this- I have to perfect my tennis to beat Oyaji! Why the hell did she have to confess while I was sleep- That's it!"

"What the hell am I thinking?" Ryoma said as he hit himself on the side of the head because of his stupidity. That confession must have really thrown him for a loop. He didn't have to act as if he knew about the confession- after all it didn't happen. She thought he was asleep- and therefore, he was safe. He didn't have to act as if he knew that she liked him and he didn't have to act as if she kissed him either. He just had to act normally around her- like he usually did. After all, no one knew that she had confessed. He looked up at the tree he was sleeping under. "So no one but you and me knows that she confessed her love for me, neh? And no one but you and me knows that she kissed me on the cheek, hai? So like Ryuzaki said, it'll be our secret under the sakura."

With that Ryoma Echizen settled his back against the tree comfortably and waited for Ryuzaki to come back with Oishi-sempai in tow.

* * *

"Secrets under the sakura, neh? Now what does that mean, Echizen?" Inui wondered aloud as he lowered his binoculars. He blinked as he tried to process the information in his head- his lip reading was second to none, but there were times when he wished his subjects would just stop with the mumbling or covering their mouths. It made it all the harder for the lips to be read.

Sighing, he thought about Echizen and the fact that he was actually taking to himself was proof enough to know that the young tennis prince was disturbed. But the only words he made out of Echizen's mouth were: confession, why, like, and kiss. Pushing up his glasses, he thought about the words and Echizen's actions under the sakura.

_Proof 1: Ryuzaki came across a supposedly sleeping Echizen. _

_Proof 2: Ryuzaki was smiling happily when she left his side to get Oishi._

**Hypothesis A: Ryuzaki accomplished something that made her very happy.**

'So the question is: what did she do that made her very happy?' thought Inui as his hand came to his chin. 'But what about Echizen's reaction to Ryuzaki?'

_Proof 1: Echizen touched his cheek and sat up as soon as Ryuzaki was away._

_Proof 2: Echizen was disturbed to the point of speaking aloud to himself._

_Proof 3: Echizen solved his disturbance and was right now pleased with his solution._

**Hypothesis B: Ryuzaki did something to deeply disturb Echizen and it happened while he was sleeping. **

Inui mulled it over for a second and chuckled as the answer hit him. "Mada mada dane, Echizen. You may be a great tennis player but you have truly yet to mature. How could you pretend to be asleep while a girl kissed and confessed her love to you?"

Shaking his head, he watched as Oishi and Ryuzaki walked over to Echizen. "It wouldn't be the first time the sakura was known to keep a secret, Echizen. Just make sure you give me more interesting data later."

Inui's glasses glinted in the sun as he walked towards the roof door and smiled.

* * *

**Author's note (4):** There's more to come as soon as I can get to it… 


	2. Real Hero

**Author's Notes (1): This involves mainly the ** **Fuji**** brothers and Sakuno. It happens after **

**Episode 36 (Big Brother Syusuke). **

**Author's Notes (2): Okay, my Japanese sucks. I'm having Sakuno use English. With the **

**exception of this word: Sazanami def. ripple **

**Author's Note (3): Whoops, changed the word for big brother from a younger female. Thus **

**the word, 'oneesan' changed to 'oniisan'. (See, TOLD you I don't know a **

**lick of Japanese. :# ) (date: ** **10-5-2005**

**

* * *

**

**Title: Real Hero**

* * *

Sumire Ryuzaki sighed with great satisfaction as she finally took off her sneakers. The smells of a delicious supper wafted through the house. "That smells so good! Sakuno! I'm home!"

Frowning at the fact that her granddaughter did not meet her as soon as she opened the door, the older Ryuzaki frowned. There was something wrong- where was Sakuno? Usually the girl came as fast as she could whenever she heard the car pulled into the driveway. And ended up crashing into the door. Throwing her tennis bag into the corner, she called out, "Sakuno! I'm home!"

"Welcome home! You're home late, Obaachan!" called out Sakuno's voice.

Sumire cocked her head to side as she heard the patter of feet coming from the kitchen. Though she smiled, the older woman called out, "You had better not be running, little one. You know what the family rule is!"

Immediately, the patter of feet dwindled down. "Hai! It's 'Sakuno does not run'!"

"And why is that rule there?" called out Sumire Ryuzaki as she put away her shoes and stepped away from the foyer. She turned to the side closet to place her tennis bag in there.

"Because when Sakuno runs, family and furniture gets tangled," Sakuno answered as she came out from the hallway. "I made something really good tonight, Obaachan! I made gingered beef, omurice, and clam soup supper for you and I even made dessert. And Obaasan said that she would come to get me in the morning before eight if that's all right. My things are already packed. Why were you late?"

"There was a last minute teachers' meeting after practice and I did some paperwork," Sumire said as she took off her team jacket and hung it up. "Supper sounds like you made a feast for the two of us- you didn't use the big knives did you?"

"No, ma'am! I used only the small paring and the steak knife," Sakuno answered cheerfully. "I remembered that I wasn't supposed to use a big one until an adult is with me. No more stitches for me!"

Smiling, Sumire turned around. "Well that sounds good- Sakuno! What happened?"

Wincing at her grandmother's yelp, Sakuno managed to smile brightly and bowed in greeting to her grandmother. "Obaachan! Welcome home! I hope you're hungry because I made a lot of food, Obaachan! And I think I made it really well this time!"

Sumire's eyes narrowed as she looked at her granddaughter. The girl's hair was undone and she had bandages on both knees; her right ankle was wrapped in an elastic bandage; there were scrapes on her right arm and her right eye- just under the coverage of the make-up, she could see the beginnings of a black eye. "I have eyes, Sakuno Marie Ryuzaki, and no changing the subject, young lady. I can clearly see what happened to you! And I want to know: How did you get this way! What happened?"

Blushing brightly, Sakuno tried to smile. "Ano it's really a long story, Obaachan-"

"I can hear a long story," Sumire said as she crossed her arms and frowned at her granddaughter.

"Can I tell you after you eat? Supper is getting cold," Sakuno said brightly as she started to back away from her grandmother. "And you'll get less angry if you have some food."

It was well known that Sumire Ryuzaki had a very quick temper. It was also well known that she also had eyes that could strip the skin off a man and a voice that could blast him into the next year. In short, she was a force to be reckoned with. So it was a constant source of amazement that Sakuno, her only granddaughter- the shyest and quietest of all her nineteen grandchildren, was the only one of all the Ryuzaki family that would not buckle under her demands. "You will tell me after supper what's wrong! Why?"

Sakuno looked down and twiddled her fingers. "Ano I'm not sure of how to tell it without you being so very angry, Obaachan. So can I give you supper first before I tell you?"

Sumire looked at her Sakuno as she looked up with her huge brown eyes, pleading. She sighed as she shook her head. "I will start eating supper as soon as I take a shower."

"And you will tell me while we are eating, Sakuno," Sumire ordered as she headed into the house. "Yes, that should work. Shower first and then we will eat." She knelt down to look at her granddaughter in the eye. "But you will answer this question now: Who was it that helped clean you up?"

Blushing brightly, Sakuno looked down at her bandaged knees. "It was Fuji Yuuta, Obaachan."

Surprised, Sumire leaned back on her haunches. "Did he indeed? It sounds like it's an interesting story, Sakuno."

"Well, not really," Sakuno blushed as she looked at her fingers. "It's really rather boring. You really wouldn't want-"

"Boring or not, I will hear it," Sumire said flatly as she looked at Sakuno. "The full story, Sakuno. Is that clear?"

"Ha-hai," Sakuno answered as she bowed to her grandmother. She smiled as she backed away. "I'll go and prepare the table settings now!"

Sumire shook her head as she saw her granddaughter disappear as quickly as her feet could take her. "Oh, that child." With a last shake of her head, she started towards her rooms. "Well, this supper story should be interesting."

* * *

"My, Sakuno, this looks delicious," Sumire said as she sat down looking at the small feast before her. Her granddaughter waited patiently until she looked up. Together they declared, "Thank you for the food!"

Sakuno waited anxiously as her grandmother cautiously tasted the dishes. She bit her lip as her grandmother put her spoon down. Finally, she blurted, "Obaachan! Is it too salty? Not enough? Should I add more spices? Cook it more the next time?"

"The food tastes fine, Sa-chan," Sumire smiled as she used her granddaughter's nickname. She looked at Sakuno's anxious face. "In fact, with the exception of putting a little too much ginger in the beef and that you need to clean the clams a little bit more, it all tastes quite delicious. You didn't cut your fingers with the knives did you?"

"No, Obaachan. I was very careful in cutting everything and I wasn't distracted once!" Sakuno announced proudly as she beamed at her grandmother. She smiled happily as she showed her hands to her grandmother. "See? Not one cut!"

"Ah! That's very good, Sa-chan!" Sumire as she patted Sakuno's cheek. "Now please tell me what happened to you today after you left school. You look like you got into a fight."

"Ano Well, Obaachan, I sort of was in a fight after school today," Sakuno admitted timidly as her index fingers formed a steeple.

"YOU WHAT?" Sumire gaped as she looked at her granddaughter. "What do you mean that you were 'sort of in a fight'? How do you sort of fight and get hurt like this?"

Sakuno scratched her head as she thought about it. "Well, I'm not sure. I mean, I wasn't the one that was actually fighting unless you can say that my punching the guy on the nose and then later smacking him on the head with the groceries count as fighting."

Sumire rubbed her eyes and then stared at her granddaughter. "Am I going to need some sake for this story?"

"I brought some out if you need it?" Sakuno said as she offered the small bottle of cold sake with a timid smile. "Do you want me to tell you all at once before or after the sake?"

"Tell it to me now before I eat and drink," Sumire ordered as she took the sake and placed it on the table. "What happened? Where were you?"

Sakuno fidgeted slightly. "Am I going to get in trouble if I tell you where I was coming home from, Obaachan?"

"Maybe," Sumire said with a frown. "No more stalling- out with it before it's definite."

"I was coming home from the downtown fresh fruit market," Sakuno said quickly. "I bought some really fresh strawberries, blueberries, bananas, cantaloupes, kiwis and pineapples. I also got some really fresh tomatoes, bean sprouts, spinach, kabocha and some eggs. And a really fresh mackerel and nicely cut yellowtail for you to eat for supper tomorrow." She glanced up at her grandmother. So far so good- her eyebrow wasn't twitching. "And I was coming home- I didn't know the bags were going to be so heavy so I walked home slowly. And just when I was a few blocks from home, a rollerblading guy kinda- ano he ano"

Sumire closed her eyes. She could see it happening. "The guy rollerbladed right into you- and you and all the groceries went flying. And that's how you got you black eye-"

"No, that wasn't it. I got that from something else, but yes, I went flying," Sakuno nodded miserably as she looked at her hands. "I lost some of the groceries- like the eggs and tomatoes and blueberries and strawberries. Well, I think I really lost all the eggs because I swung them around. And I'm still wondering where one of the cantaloupes went-"

"How did you get your black eye then?" Sumire demanded.

"I think one of the passerby's took it or maybe it just rolled down the hill," Sakuno continued as she placed a finger on her chin and thought about the other fruit she lost. "I lost a few kiwis that way and but at least the bean sprouts didn't really go flying all over the place because that would have made a bigger mess on the streets-"

Sumire closed her eyes. "Sakuno-"

"And the kabocha was cracked so you have to cook it right away," Sakuno said aloud as she thought about her lost groceries. "And the mackerel was safe but the yellowtail was ruined because a truck ran over it-"

Sumire could feel her eyebrow start to twitch. "Sakuno! Never mind about the groceries!"

Putting her head down, Sakuno quieted immediately. "Hai, Obaachan."

"What happened to your eye and how does Fuji Yuuta fit into all of this?" Sumire demanded as she glared at her granddaughter. "Was he the rollerblading guy?"

Shocked to the core, Sakuno lifted her head up. "Of course not, Obaachan! He's the one who saved me! He's a real hero, Obaachan!"

Sumire's eye twitched at that. "He saved you?" At her silence, she felt her eyebrow start to twitch even more. "Care to tell me what happened to you? Why did you need to be saved? What happened to you and how is Fuji Yuuta involved? Who did you need saving from, Sakuno? And no more stalling!"

"Well, ano the rollerblading guy wasn't too happy that he ran into me- so he grabbed me by my hair and was about to hurt me even more when Yuuta-oniisan tackled him and fought with him," Sakuno said quickly. "The guy was on the ground and then he threw dirt into Yuuta-oniisan's eyes. He cheated and was about to get in a sucker punch when Yuuta-oniisan was down and that's when I grabbed the bag with the berries and eggs and smacked it over the guy's head. He wasn't too happy so he started after me again."

"I see," Sumire said faintly. "And then what happened? Is that how you got the black eye?"

"Yes, ma'am," Sakuno nodded slowly. "He threw a fist at me- and I tried to do the basic of what Daddy taught me, you know, move real quickly and flip your opponent over your shoulder? It sort of worked, except he was too heavy and there wasn't enough momentum and he ano well, he fell on top of me. He was winded and about to hurt me some more- that's when I managed to get him on the nose but I don't I should do that anymore because it just made him angrier and he was just about to punch me back that was when Yuuta-oniisan came from behind him and really knocked him out with the kabocha- that's why it's cracked. You could say that the guy was pumpkin-ed."

"I see," Sumire said faintly as she looked at her granddaughter. "And then what happened?"

"The usual- the police was called and the people on the streets who saw everything said that he was the one that was terrorizing everyone in the neighborhood and making trouble like stealing whatever he wanted. That's why he ran into me- he stole some things while he was rollerblading by and the police came to give chase," Sakuno shrugged. "Then everyone helped me to pick up the groceries and Yuuta-oniisan gave me a piggyback home. I twisted my ankle- but I don't know how."

"It happens," Sumire said as she looked at her granddaughter. She opened her arms and immediately the little girl came into her grandmother's lap. "And then he cleaned and fixed you up? When did he leave?"

"He left about an hour ago. He said that he had to go home," Sakuno said as she leaned against her grandmother's ample chest and felt her Obaachan's arms come around her. "He's really nice, Obaachan. He's a real hero."

"Yes, he is, Sa-chan," Sumire said softly as she stroked her granddaughter's head. She closed her eyes and briefly imagined of all things that could have happened if Fuji Yuuta hadn't been there. She pulled her granddaughter closer and shivered. There was no way that she would let anything happen to her- she was much too precious to everyone. Much too precious. "I'm thankful to him that you're safe. We should thank him."

"Obaachan? Can I go to St. Rudolph's with you on Tuesday?" Sakuno asked timidly as she pulled slightly away from her grandmother. "I would like to see him on Tuesday, Obaachan. And I would like to bring some food for him, too."

Sumire blinked. "Why Tuesday?"

"Because he hates Tuesdays and this Tuesday is really bad because he has a huge math and Japanese history test and an extra long practice all week because of the consolation tournament and they're serving really bad Italian food in the cafeteria that day," Sakuno said as she looked up at her grandmother hopefully. "Ano I know that he likes to eat pumpkin curry and strawberries and cake and some spicy foods. And I would really like to make him something for him to make him smile this Tuesday, Obaachan. Please?"

"I think I have a meeting on Tuesday, but maybe I can arrange something," Sumire promised with a smile. Then she frowned and grabbed the girl by the shoulders as she thought of something. "But no more going someplace without letting me know where exactly you're going, young lady! Why did you go all the way downtown for the fruits? Couldn't you have gone to the local markets?"

Sakuno put her head down as her cheeks felt hot. "Ano I wanted to make something special for you- I was going to make a fruit tart for Obaachan and a pineapple cake for Obaasan. And I really needed the best fruit and things and the market downtown is where Obaachan's chef and Sanada Jiji-san and Ba-san said the best fruit are."

"And why do you feel that you had to make something special for me?" Sumire asked as she tilted her head to the side. "Is there a special occasion that I'm not aware of?"

"No, Obaachan," Sakuno said as she shook her head. "It's just that I know that I'm not going to be back here from Obaasan's until Monday afternoon and I wanted to make you something that you liked. And there was a really good sale on pineapples and Obaasan likes pineapples." She started sniffing. "But the berries were all crushed and the eggs were all destroyed after I smacked the rollerblading guy. And I have no idea what happened to the other two pineapples- I think that they were crushed under the traffic. So I could only make a kiwi and berry fruit crepe with ice cream for dessert. The way that Uncle Haru makes it."

"There, there, Sa-chan. Don't you cry. It's all right," Sumire said as she wiped the tears from her granddaughter's eyes. "I like fruit crepes with ice cream. You really did have a hard day, didn't you, little one?"

Rubbing her eyes dry then wincing as she touched her black eye, Sakuno nodded her head in agreement. "A very hard day, Obaachan. I really feel bad for Yuuta-oniisan. He had me crying into his shirt for at least twenty minutes."

"I'm sure you did cry for at least twenty minutes. And I bet that his shirt was thoroughly soaked, too," Sumire smiled as she pulled the hair away from the girl's face. "But I'm sure that he understood why." She looked so much like her deceased mother when she was a little girl. "Come let us finish eating and we will discuss what you wish to make Yuuta."

"Okay," Sakuno said happily as she gave her grandmother a kiss on the cheek before she hopped down from her lap. "I think the food might have gotten cold but I can warm it up of you like."

"It's okay, I don't mind it cold," Sumire said as she picked up her chopsticks again. "Let's eat."

The two ate in silence before Sumire commented, "You know that we're going to have to tell Kiyoshi what happened, Sakuno."

Her eyes wide, Sakuno stared at her grandmother. "Do we have to tell Daddy? I don't want to worry him."

"It's his duty to worry, he's your father," Sumire said mildly. "And I think that we will also discuss if you should take some self-defense courses-" She lifted up her hand to stop Sakuno's protests. "With someone other than your Obaasan. Like I said, I will call your father in Brazil and see if he knows someone that he approves of- and he will discuss it with all your uncles."

"All of them?" Sakuno asked faintly as she stared at her grandmother worriedly. "You don't think Daddy's going to brawl with all the uncles like he usually does, will he?"

"He's in Brazil and busy, I doubt that he'll have a chance to come and fight with all of them even if he did want to for old times sake," Sumire said mildly as she thought of her five sons and their love of the martial arts which came from her beloved dead husband. Then again … "Just in case, I'll have him stay put until he cools down. Else he just might fly over and beat the life out of that guy. And the family might have to help bury the body."

Sakuno's eyes went wide. "Ano Daddy wouldn't really want to kill the guy, would he?"

Sumire looked at her granddaughter's wide eyes and sighed. Cupping her little one's face in her hands, she let the anger she was trying so hard to hide show. "Sakuno… I'm your grandmother and quite frankly, I want to kill the guy for hurting you."

Sakuno's eyes went wider at her grandmother's quiet confession. "But Obaachan- It's really not that important. You shouldn't get violent- I know that Obaasan would say the same thing- violence is wrong. She teaches that in Sunday school."

"Azami also teaches that it's all right to be human and to have human emotions, little one. Violence in itself is wrong and it is evoked by strong emotions, but it still doesn't stop the feeling of wanting to protect those that you love, Sa-chan," Sumire said as she kissed her granddaughter's forehead. She lifted a finger to stop her granddaughter's protests.

"No matter who you are, you will always be precious," Sumire said with conviction. "You are Sakuno Marie Ryuzaki. You are the only living child of my youngest son, Kiyoshi and Ayame. And it's not just me you're precious to- You are also the precious granddaughter of my oldest friend, Azami Date. Your mother was her only daughter of three children- you know your Obaasan. What do you think that she do to the one that hurt you?"

Sakuno winced. "I think we'd better hide her katana away from her until she calms down. And I think that she would like to be introduced to Yuuta-oniisan."

"That's a very good idea, Sa-chan," Sumire said with a smile. "I think Azami would like to be introduced to your new hero, Yuuta-oniisan." At her granddaughter's happy smile, she couldn't help teasing, "Think we should introduce her to Ryoma as well? After all he saved you from being hit when Sasabe was swinging his racket around."

Blushing furiously, Sakuno scolded her grandmother. "Obaachan!"

* * *

It was about four on Tuesday afternoon as Sakuno waited patiently in her home getting some last minute things ready. Everything was ready for her to finish cooking by the time she and Obaachan came home. Her grandmother was unable to take her to St. Rudolph Junior High School, but she did arrange for her to be escorted there by Fuji-sempai. She was nervous about being with him, but she figured he had to be nice because of two reasons: he was always smiling and he was Yuuta-oniisan's aniki. So he couldn't be bad, right?

Sakuno counted on her fingers with what she had to surprise Yuuta-oniisan. There was a loaf of homemade white bread with a small jar of homemade raspberry jam, a large container of pumpkin curry with a separate one for rice; a bento full of spicy Buffalo wings and honey-spiced wings; another bento that was filled with tonkatsu and gingered pork with tri-flavored rice (just in case he didn't like the way she made the pumpkin curry); a large thermos of miso soup; a small fruit tart and six miniature strawberry shortcakes. Biting her lip, she wondered, 'Did I make too much? It's enough to last the week instead of a day! Maybe he wouldn't like how it tastes- like Ryoma-kun didn't!'

Just as she was about to take out some dishes, the doorbell rang. Sakuno froze at the sound then it rang again and she raced towards the door to open it.

* * *

Fuji waited patiently outside Ryuzaki-sensei's door as he wondered why he was going to escort her granddaughter to St. Rudolph Junior High. There was no reason that he could think of unless Ryuzaki-chan was going to give a message or something to their tennis coach. Either way, it wouldn't matter. He wouldn't turn down the request because it simply meant that he would get to see Yuuta and how he was treated in his dorm. And if he saw that Yuuta was not treated well… his hand gripped his tennis bag.

"Ai-ee! Ow!"

Startled by the loud scream then a crash coming from the other side of the door, Fuji frantically knocked on the door. "Ryuzaki! Are you all right there? Ryuzaki?"

He held his breath as the lock clicked and the door opened to reveal a mussed but smiling Ryuzaki. "What happened?"

"Nothing really. I just ran into the door," Sakuno said with a sheepish smile as she rubbed the back of her head then winced. "Ittai! Sazanami strikes again."

"Pardon?" Concerned, Fuji looked at her as she hissed in pain. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"I'm fine, Fuji-sempai! I'm not seeing double, so we can go," Sakuno said cheerfully.

Fuji looked at her doubtfully- there was something wrong with her. But what was it? "Are you sure? Sensei said something about your being hurt this weekend and that if you weren't up to it-"

"I'm fine, Fuji-sempai. Obaachan worries too much," Sakuno said as she waved it off. "I just need to get my things from the kitchen- would you like something to drink before we go? Some water, tea or juice?"

"Juice would be fine, thank you," Fuji said as he followed her to the kitchen, his sharp eyes taking in the décor of Ryuzaki-sensei's home and kitchen. The warmth, neatness and utter femininity of the rooms, despite the various sports trophies and memorabilia, all indicated that the Ryuzaki household was an all-female household. Absently he noted a backpack that was used to hold bentos and a couple of cake boxes on the counter. "I was very surprised that sensei asked me to take you to St. Rudolph."

Alarmed, Sakuno looked at him with wide eyes, her hands gripping the small juice carton she had taken out. "You mean that you don't know how to get there, sempai?"

"I know how to get there," Fuji said soothingly as he smiled at her. Ryuzaki's reaction was most curious. "I just don't know why I'm taking you there?"

Sakuno blinked as she looked at Fuji-sempai. "You mean Obaachan didn't tell you? It's because I want to see Yuuta-oniisan and give him something to eat."

He couldn't help it. It was rare when someone totally got the drop on him. He could even count the instances on his fingers; that was how rare it was. It was even rarer that it would happen because of a girl. Fuji opened his eyes and stared at the girl. "You- you want to see Yuuta-oniisan? To give him something to eat? Yuuta?"

"Hai," Sakuno said brightly with a nod. She gave the juice to him. "And we have to hurry before his practice is over by five thirty, Fuji-sempai."

"Oh, right. I'll hurry," Fuji said stupidly as he took the juice and started drinking it. 'My, my, this is getting interesting. And she calls Yuuta 'oniisan', I wonder…' When he finished drinking, he saw Ryuzaki adjusting the straps of the backpack to fit her. "What are you doing? Let me carry that."

"I can carry it, you can carry the cakes," Sakuno said as she looked up at him. "You're doing so much already- you shouldn't have to carry this, too."

"But what kind of sempai would I be if I let you carry the heavy things?" Fuji countered as he pulled the backpack from her. "And what would sensei say?"

Sakuno blinked as she looked at him doubtfully while still keeping a hand on the strap. "She would say that we shouldn't let guests do the work, sempai."

"But she would also say that a sempai should help his kohai," Fuji said gently. He smiled as a thought occurred to him. "I need the extra training since I was excused from club training today. If I don't carry this- I might loose my edge."

Sakuno quickly let go of the strap and bowed to him. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Fuji-sempai. I didn't mean to take you from club activities today. I'm so sorry for taking your time!"

"It's all right, I was only joking," Fuji said as he easily slipped on the backpack and started towards the door, just in case she could think up of a better excuse to carry the backpack. "Can you take the cake? And my tennis bag?"

"Ha-hai, sempai," Sakuno said as she grabbed the cakes and tennis bag then followed him.

As the two walked out the door, Sakuno bit her lip wondering if she should make nice conversation with him. She gripped the box tightly. She hated making small conversation, she always felt so uncomfortable talking to people she really didn't know. But then… It would be rude not to, right? But then he was a quiet sempai, maybe he preferred to walk in peace? Maybe Fuji-sempai preferred to-

"Ryuzaki?"

Startled out of her thoughts, Sakuno looked up to see Fuji-sempai looking at her curiously. Flushing red, she stammered, "Ha-hai sempai?"

Fuji hid a smile at her deer-caught-in-headlights look. "I just wanted to know what you have in this backpack."

"Oh! It's food I made for Yuuta-oniisan," Sakuno said with a happy smile. "I made pumpkin curry with rice, for Yuuta-oniisan."

Puzzled by the weight of the backpack, Fuji simply blinked then smiled at her. "Then you made a lot of pumpkin curry with rice."

Sakuno giggled embarrassed. "It's not just that, I also made Buffalo wings and spicy-honey wings, tonkatsu and gingered pork with tri-flavored rice, just in case he doesn't like the way that I made the curry. And of course miso soup because Obaasan and Uncle Haru says that you can't have a proper meal without soup."

"Of course," Fuji managed to say as he looked at her. "And you can't call it a meal without dessert, right?"

Sakuno nodded happily. "I made a fruit tart and six small strawberry shortcakes."

"Is that all?"

"And some white bread with raspberry jam," Sakuno said as she looked up at Fuji-sempai. He was looking at her strangely. "Just in case he's still hungry."

"Just in case he's still hungry," Fuji repeated as he stared at the small girl as she stood there smiling at her accomplishments. "And all this food is just for Yuuta?"

Sakuno bit her lip. "Ano Do you think it might be too much? He said that he really doesn't like Tuesday Italian night because it tastes horrible and he won't have time to really eat on Wednesday morning because he has practice and a chemistry test so I thought that I would make him something that he might like and maybe like to quickly heat up and eat in the morning."

"I see. After this street, we'll take the train and then a short bus ride to St. Rudolph," Fuji said as he stopped at the light. 'She knows more about Yuuta than I do. How is that possible?' He smiled as he looked at Ryuzaki. "The ride in total should take about thirty minutes."

"Okay," Sakuno said brightly as she watched the cars go by, not noticing the side looks Fuji was giving her. She hummed, pleased that she had actually made a conversation with a sempai without stuttering more than ten times. Now if she could talk to Ryoma-kun with stuttering…

Walking at the light change, Fuji pondered the question that was ringing through his mind: How was it possible that Ryuzaki knew more about his brother than he did? The only reason he could think of was that Yuuta was somehow dating Ryuzaki and had not told him.

Fuji stared at the distance, unsure of how he felt about that. Was his brother that far from him? That he would even not tell him about the important things in his life? Sure he understood that he wouldn't speak about the fight he was in, figuring that Yuuta was on the loosing end of it the way he didn't want to talk about it. But still… "I'm sorry, could you repeat that? I couldn't hear you, Ryuzaki."

"I just wanted to thank you for taking me to St. Rudolph's, Fuji-sempai," Sakuno said shyly. "I'm sorry that it had to be today and not some other day."

"I'm all too happy to take you there, Ryuzaki," Fuji smiled as he looked at her. "It'll give me a chance to see Yuuta- though I'm not sure he would want to see me, with him being so busy."

"I'm sure Yuuta-oniisan would be glad to see you," Sakuno said as she looked at him. "I'm just not sure that he would be too happy to see me."

Puzzled, Fuji looked at Ryuzaki. "And why would that be the case?"

"Fuji-sempai," Sakuno hesitated then blurted out. "Was Yuuta-oniisan too hurt on Friday? That guy didn't hurt him very badly did he? He can still play in the consolation games, can't he? I wouldn't want to deny him his chance to play- if he can't then it would be my fault!"

"No, no, Yuuta was fine after resting on Saturday. In fact, he challenged me to a game on Sunday morning and we had fun," Fuji said soothingly. He looked at the relieved look on Ryuzaki's face and his eyes zeroed in on what was bothering him about her eyes- her right eye was expertly covered by make-up. "What do you mean if his being hurt is all your fault? What happened Friday? Does this have anything to do with your black eye?"

Sakuno stared at him. "How did you know I have a black eye?"

"I have very good eye sight," Fuji said as he smiled at her. "And I like to think of myself as a photographer, Ryuzaki. So could you please tell me what happened to Yuuta on Friday?"

"You mean that Yuuta-oniisan didn't tell you?" Sakuno asked surprised. At the shake of his head, Sakuno bit her lip then slowly shook her head. "Then I'm sorry, sempai, I don't think I should tell you either."

Surprised at her defiance, Fuji opened his eyes. "And why is that?"

"Because Yuuta-oniisan probably doesn't want you to know for your own good," Sakuno said simply as her face flushed a deep red. "I'm sorry, Fuji-sempai."

"For my own good?" Fuji echoed as he stared at the usually timid girl. "You think that's why he didn't tell me who he was fighting?"

"How could he tell you who he was fighting when we didn't know who he was?" Sakuno said as she looked at Fuji-sempai. "That doesn't make sense."

A gleam of craftiness flashed through Fuji's eyes. "So then what does make sense? Why do you think that he hasn't told me why he was fighting?"

Sakuno looked at Fuji-sempai, considering. "He's probably not telling you because you'd probably do the same that Daddy would do. You'd try to rip that guy's head off. Is that the train we have to take?"

Startled out of the conversation, Fuji stared at Ryuzaki then at the station signs. "No, it's that one over there. We'd better hurry, I can hear it coming."

As soon as they caught the train, Fuji sat Ryuzaki down then took the seat next to her, making sure that she was on the inner part of the seat while he sat protectively on the outer seat. He immediately got up at her squeak of pain and smiled sheepishly as she moved a braid from his seat. "Sorry about that. So what makes you think that I would rip the guy's head off?"

"Because that's what family does when someone they love about gets hurt," Sakuno said with mild exasperation. "They want to rip the heads off of the people who hurt the ones they love. And it's okay to feel that- just don't do it, Obaachan explained that to me."

"I see," Fuji said, at a loss for something else to say. He closed his eyes to think about what had happened over the weekend. Yuuta came home bloody on Friday and was in an absolutely horrible mood and refused to say anything. On Monday, when Ryuzaki had come into school with her numerous injuries, it was assumed that the girl had somehow hurt herself over the weekend once again. However, at lunch time a rumor had emerged that she was seen in the arms of a boy from another school on Friday afternoon. By the time club practice had rolled around, the young Ryuzaki was not to be seen anywhere and Horio was being constantly scolded by his fellow classmates along with Momo, Oishi and Kawamura for speculating on the supposed boyfriend and what Ryuzaki was doing instead of cheering Echizen on. It had been a most amusing afternoon because Echizen had taken to somehow aiming his balls and his opponent's balls at Horio whenever the loud freshman started speculating.

Now he was presented with the fact that Ryuzaki knows Yuuta's schedule and she was protective of Yuuta. Add in the fact that now she's visiting him at he had just seen up close that she had a black eye. With all the information that he had, he could come to only the conclusion that Yuuta was protecting Ryuzaki from some unknown bully or bullies. That was something that Yuuta would probably do because his brother wasn't the type of boy that would allow a helpless girl to be picked on. He taught his brother to never allow that to happen. So what was Yuuta doing so far away from home? The train and bus was very close to their house and Ryuzaki lived quite a few stops away from them. So what could be going on between them?

'_A romance_' whispered the taunting voice in his head. '_Yuuta was dating Ryuzaki and that on their way home, they were attacked._'

'_Am I that removed from my brother's life that he refuses to tell me that he's dating Ryuzaki?_' Fuji sighed as he closed his eyes again. _'Are you angry with me that much, Yuuta? What can I do to make it right between us?'_

Sakuno felt bad for Fuji-sempai. He looked so lost in thought and so sad that his brother didn't tell him about the fight he got into because of her. Mustering all the courage she could, she placed a hand on his arm and prayed that he didn't think that she was too forward. "Fuji-sempai- for what it's worth, I think that Yuuta-oniisan is a real hero and an amazing guy."

Fuji guessed that settled it. Ryuzaki was his brother's girlfriend. He slid a look at her- he supposed that he should get used to the fact that she was dating his younger brother. Though he personally thought he could find a girl with a little more spirit, she wasn't so bad. "So, Ryuzaki-chan, did you tell your father? About you and Yuuta? And what happened?"

"Obaachan did," Sakuno grimaced as she crossed her arms. "And she barely managed to stop Obaasan and Daddy getting violent. I did get grounded by everybody though."

Surprised, Fuji opened his eyes and stared at her. "Isn't that a little harsh?"

"I think so- after all it wasn't my fault it happened. It just sort of did," Sakuno sniffed as she remembered what happened that night and at the weekend with her maternal grandmother. She let out a moue. "I don't know why I have such a 'Pick on Me- I'm an Easy Target' face."

Feeling bad for the girl, Fuji smiled as he lifted her chin to look at him. He ignored the red on her cheeks as studied her face then let her chin go. "No, I'm sorry- I don't see that message on your face at all. But I do see a 'Please Don't Sit On My Braids' sign on your face."

Giggling at his silliness, Sakuno smiled at him. "You're so silly, sempai." She gave a little sigh. "I just wish I was a tsunami already."

Fuji blinked at that. "Pardon? You want to be a tsunami?"

"Sorry, sempai- it's just that Daddy calls me 'Sazanami' at certain times," Sakuno explained with a red face. "Because I'm still young… and small like Mama was when she was my age. And I really don't make trouble- it just comes to me."

"I see," Fuji smiled as he sat back. "I suppose that could be tiring."

"Fuji-sempai, you don't know how tiring it is." Sakuno sighed as she looked at him. "Just wait, one day I'm going to shout 'Enough trouble, just go away! Shoo!' And then, with my face, the nice men with the white coats will come and take me to the nicely padded room and throw away the keys."

"I doubt that would happen," Fuji laughed as he looked at her miserable mien. Perhaps she wasn't so bad for Yuuta after all. "Oh, there's our stop. Let's go see Yuuta."

* * *

"Okay! Practice is over!" called out Mizuki as he walked over to the courts. "Time to wash up and get something to eat!"

"Great, da-ne! Italian food here I come, da-ne!" sang out Yanagisawa as he wiped his forehead. He looked at his doubles partner. "Come on Atsushi, let's see who can eat the slowest and leave the most, da-ne!"

"I hope we have spaghetti and meat sauce," Kaneda said as he walked over to Yuuta. At his teammate's puzzled look, he shrugged. "Last time I was able to make a mini-fort on my plate with a moat."

As the team made it into the clubroom and washed up, Yuuta looked at his friend and shook his head. "Why are we having inedible Italian food? If a person can't cook it, can't they just make different food?"

"And let us be denied of the fun of making things with our food? Bite your tongue, Yuuta!" Nomura said in mock horror as he looked at his friend. "What is dorm experience but to have at least one night of bad food?"

"Stop complaining," Akazawa said as he walked into the clubroom with Mizuki. "At least you're being fed with nutritious food."

"But can't they give us something that tastes good as well?" Yuuta groused as put away his racket. "Is that so much to ask?"

"No use in complaining about the food since there's isn't anything better," Mizuki said as he looked at Yuuta.

Yuuta was about to say something when he heard his name being called on the PA system, instructing him to go to the visitor's lounge. Surprised at the call, he looked at his teammates. "I'd better go. Meet you all later, sempai-tachi."

"I'll save some spaghetti and meat sauce for you," Kaneda called out.

Yuuta merely gave him a peace sign as he walked out.

Mizuki looked at Yuuta's disappearing form speculatively. "I wonder who's come to see our little Yuuta?" He looked around at his teammates. "Shall we check?"

"Wouldn't it be better to just let him see his visitors in peace?" Akazawa suggested as he looked at the club manager.

"Why?" Mizuki asked genuinely perplexed. "Maybe they're checking up on him to see how he's doing. And if they are, then maybe we can find out what happened to Yuuta this weekend?"

Yanagisawa smiled eagerly as he looked at Mizuki. "He was much closed mouth about it, wasn't he, da-ne? Let's follow him, da-ne!"

* * *

Yuuta yawned as he walked into the lounge then stopped in surprise when he saw the person sitting at the visitor's couch. "Aniki! What are you doing here?"

"Yuuta! Did we catch you at a bad time?" Fuji said brightly as gave a huge, unguarded smile for his brother. "Is practice over?"

"Practice just finished ten minutes ago, aniki," Yuuta said as he looked at his older brother suspiciously whose grin just got bigger. "Is there anything wrong, Aniki? And why do you have a backpack? Are you running away from home?"

"If I were, would you house me?" Fuji asked with a huge smile.

Yuuta scowled at his brother. "You're not running away from home, Aniki. And if you're just here to tease me, can you please do it on another day? It's really been lousy and I still haven't gotten a chance to eat supper yet."

Fuji's smile grew even larger at that. "Then we came in just in time."

Before Yuuta could retort, he heard his name being called out. "Yuuta-oniisan! Yuuta-oniisan!"

Blinking, Yuuta turned his head to see Sakuno Ryuzaki coming towards him, her arms filled with cans of soda and a couple of cake boxes. "Sakuno-chan! What are you doing here? How did you get here?"

"I came with Fuji-sempai!" Sakuno said happily as she beamed up at him. She lifted up the cake boxes and offered them to him. "And I came to give you this- I made some strawberry shortcakes and a small fruit tart for you-"

"Strawberry shortcakes! That sounds really good da-ne!" shouted Yanagisawa as he popped out from his hiding place.

"Just what part of keeping quiet while spying don't you understand?" Mizuki shouted as he glared at his teammate.

Really scared at the loud voices that came out of nowhere, Sakuno jumped a foot into the air as she screamed. She threw up her hands, sodas and the cake boxes into the air. A spilt second later, she screamed again, "The cakes!"

In slow motion, everyone watched as the boxes and sodas tumbled in the air. The cakes were caught by Atsushi just before they hit the ground. He grimaced then tried to smile encouragingly as he offered them up to the girl. "I think they're okay."

With trembling hands, Sakuno took the boxes and sniffed as she looked at them. She could feel her lower lip wobbling. "Thank you, but… The boxes are upside down. They're ruined."

"Oh dear," Fuji said as he looked at the upside down cake boxes.

"Oh, well," Atsushi said as he looked his partner who was looking highly embarrassed. "Um."

"I'm sure that they're fine, Sakuno-chan," Yuuta babbled brightly as he took the boxes from her and patted her shoulder. "And even if they aren't, you can't ruin the taste of a cake even if they're a bit tumbled up."

Sakuno looked up at him, tears welling in her eyes. "But- but I really made them look so nice for you, Oniisan."

"Hey, hey, Sakuno-chan! What's with the tears?" Yuuta scolded desperately. He was so not up to another thirty minutes of crying. "It's not like they were destroyed over by that rollerblading punk on Friday! They're still edible!"

"But- but I worked so hard and they looked so nice!" Sakuno sniffed as she looked up at him with sorrowful eyes. Tears started rolling down her face. "I didn't have to make them into fruit crepes! And they tasted really good!"

With that last wail, she threw herself at Yuuta's chest and started sobbing into his shirt. Sighing, Yuuta winced at her last wail then said sternly, "Sakuno-chan! No crying over this!" He pulled her away and shook her shoulder a bit. "Listen to your oniisan! You can cry because that punk ran into you! You can cry because he grabbed your hair and hurt you! You can cry about anything you want! But you cannot cry because your cakes took a tumble! It's not that bad!"

"But- but they looked really nice," Sakuno sniffed as she wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "And- and I wanted to make you happy today because you said that you hated Tuesdays and this was a really bad Tuesday."

"Is that why you're here?" Yuuta asked bemusedly as he looked from Sakuno to his brother then back. "You wanted to make me happy with a fruit tart and strawberry shortcakes?"

"And she made you several very nice bentos," Fuji said as he pointed to his backpack. He smiled brightly at Sakuno. "Remember these? They're safe and quite right side up."

"You made me bentos?" Yuuta gaped as he looked from Sakuno to his brother then back.

"You made him bentos, da-ne?" Yanagisawa demanded as he looked at the girl.

Sakuno squeaked and hid behind Yuuta's back, clutching on to his shirt. Sighing, Yuuta looked from Sakuno's huddled form to his sempai. "Sempai, maybe you'd better-"

"I think you're scaring her, Shinya," Atsushi sighed as he looked at his partner.

"What's so scary about me, da-ne?" Yanagisawa demanded as he looked at his partner and Yuuta. He looked at the girl as she peeked around his kohai. "Aren't I a handsome guy, da-ne?"

Sakuno squeaked and hid behind Yuuta's back again. At her trembling, Yuuta gave his sempai a militant look. "I really think that you should step back, sempai."

"Step far and away from her, Yanagisawa," Fuji said with a gleam in his eye. He stood next to his brother. "You've caused enough trouble tonight, I think."

"Uh, right, da-ne," Yanagisawa said nervously as he stepped away from Yuuta and his little girlfriend. His mood perked up as soon as he thought about that. Yuuta had a girlfriend! "So, Yuuta- is this your-"

"Come, Ryuzaki-chan, let's put these out for Yuuta," Fuji interrupted as he placed a hand on Ryuzaki's shoulder and pulled Yuuta towards a table. "I think that Yuuta should be hungry now since it's supper time."

"Ha-hai," Sakuno said as she nervously followed Fuji-sempai and Yuuta to the table. "I made a lot so I hope you like it, oniisan."

The thought of food had Yuuta's mouth drooling as followed his brother. "So shall we eat?"

Mizuki's eyes gleamed at the thought of the girl's bentos for Yuuta. Maybe he could get some information out of her. And if he could work it to his advantage, he might even be able to sit next to Fuji and get a game from him. "Yes, let's have some bentos-"

"Is that table over there is cleaner?" Fuji asked aloud as he craned his neck and looked at a table that was farther away from his brother's teammates. He gathered up the bag again and looked at his brother as he quickly walked to it. "Yuuta, bring the cakes. Ryuzaki-chan, why don't you-"

Mizuki could only blink as he saw the Fuji brothers at the far table. He walked up towards them with determination. "Do you need any help-?"

"Why don't you go get some dishes and bowls?" Fuji suggested as he pulled out a large bento without looking at him. "And don't forget napkins." He looked at Yanagisawa. "And why don't you go get some drinks for everyone here? Since we can't drink the ones Ryuzaki-chan bought. They're probably much too shaken for us to drink neatly."

"Uh, right, da-ne," Yanagisawa said as he jetted off to do as Fuji said, pulling Atsushi with him. "Come and help me get some drinks."

"Fine," Mizuki growled as he stalked off towards the cafeteria.

"So what did you make, Sakuno-chan?" Yuuta asked as she opened a bento. He took a deep sniff and his mouth watered at the scent, "Is that Buffalo wings?"

"And spiced honey wings," Sakuno said happily as she started opening the other bentos. "Just in case you don't like Buffalo wings and I made you pumpkin curry with rice- the rice is in another bento there. This has tonkatsu and gingered pork with tri-flavored rice, just in case you don't like the way I made the pumpkin curry and this is a thermos of miso soup."

Yuuta stared as she pulled out a loaf of bread. "And here's a loaf of homemade white bread with a small jar of homemade raspberry jam."

"Is that all?" Yuuta demanded as he looked at her.

"Did I make too much?" Sakuno asked worriedly. "I thought I did- but then I was thinking that maybe you can eat some for breakfast because you said that you wouldn't have time to eat tomorrow morning. But now that oniisan's friends are here, you won't have anything to eat."

"So then how about we save this bread and hide some food for him to eat tomorrow?" Fuji suggested as he looked at Sakuno.

"Won't that be too deceiving?" Sakuno asked, shocked at the thought of not sharing everything.

"In a dorm full of boys, it's a dog eat dog world," Akazawa said as he walked in. "Deception about food is a given and allowed. Of course there's a fee for my silence."

"You want some food, don't you, sempai?" Yuuta sighed.

"Just some curry," Akazawa conceded as he looked at the nice spread of food. "And maybe some of the other things as well."

"Isn't that blackmail?" Fuji asked delicately as his eyes gleamed at the thought.

"When it comes to Tuesday night, everyone blackmails," Akazawa replied bluntly. "And you'd better think fast, they're coming back real soon because I think they have the rest of the team with them. You can thank Yanagisawa's loud mouth."

"Deal, sempai," Yuuta sighed as he grabbed as much food as he could and hid the loaf of bread into his brother's tennis bag.

"Great," Akazawa said as he sat down right next to Fuji. "So how is Seigaku these days? Are you guys ready for the semi-finals?"

* * *

Sakuno looked at Yuuta timidly. She was unsure of what was going on. No one had said anything about how the food was or if they liked it. They should have liked it, the way they had wolfed it down. But she then again, maybe the food on Tuesday night was so fearsome anything was better tasting than that. She bit her lip and prayed that it was decent and that she didn't ruin their taste buds like she did with Ryoma's. "Ano um, How- how was the food, oniisan?"

"It's quite tasty," Mizuki said quickly as he looked at the girl. She gave a small smile to him but still looked worried as she looked at Yuuta-oniisan for an answer.

"I didn't know that Ryuzaki-chan called you oniisan?" Fuji said mildly as he looked at Mizuki. "But then, what does one call you?"

"Sakuno-chan, I think this is the best meal that I've eaten," Yuuta said quickly to stop the barb of words between his aniki and Mizuki. He smiled as she stared uncertainly at him. "Really. It's really delicious."

Sakuno smiled in relief. "Really? You really liked it? Oh! That's great! I'm so glad that you liked it, oniisan! Are you sure that you liked it?"

"It really is delicious, Ryuzaki-chan," Fuji smiled as he looked at her. "Your wings are quite tasty. And your pumpkin curry is quite good, too."

Blushing furiously, Sakuno bowed. "Oh thank you, sempai!"

"The miso is almost as tasty as my mother's and the tonkatsu is really good," Atsushi offered. He shrugged at the glares he got from his friends. "Hey, my mother's a really great cook."

"Oh, thank you Kisarazu-san," Sakuno bowed as she heard the compliment.

"It's a really good food, da-ne!" said Yanagisawa in a really loud voice. "The wings were a bit spicy for my tastes-"

Yuuta could have kicked the older classman for putting a disappointed look on Sakuno-chan's face. "Sempai-"

"But the food wasn't made for your tastes, was it?" Fuji said mildly as he looked at Yanagisawa and smiled congenially at him. "Yuuta likes spicy foods and so do I. And we found it quite delicious, wouldn't you agree?"

"Um, yeah, da-ne, it was really good!" Yanagisawa said docilely as he felt sweat start to gather on his back. "And really perfect for your tastes Yuuta, da-ne!"

"So she made everything very well, did she?" called out a voice. Sakuno spun to see her grandmother coming towards them. "Good job, Sa-chan."

"Obaachan! Your meeting was done early!" Sakuno smiled happily. "They just finished eating just now!"

"And I hope that everything was done to your satisfaction, Yuuta," Sumire Ryuzaki said as she looked at the young boy with a smile. "Sakuno did her best to make your favorites- she put in as much effort into it as she does when she cooks for family."

"Did she?" Yuuta said respectfully. "I'm honored."

"No, we are," Sumire said as she shook her head. "If you hadn't saved her like you did- I don't want to know what would have happened. As her grandmother, I thank you for saving her, taking home and bandaging her up. If you need anything, let me know and I'll see what I can do."

Embarrassed, Yuuta bowed his head. "It was nothing, really. Sakuno-chan managed to bloody his nose."

"No, what you did- it was something," Sumire said as she smiled at him. "Not many people your age would stop a boy twice his size from hurting a girl he didn't even know."

Blushing furiously, Yuuta mumbled, "It was the way I was raised."

"You took on a boy that was twice your size?" Fuji asked mildly as he looked at his younger brother, his eyes opened and flashing. "It's a wonder that you were any more mangled than you were, Yuuta."

Sakuno looked up at her grandmother suspiciously. "How did you know that the guy was twice as big as Yuuta-oniisan?"

"I asked your uncles Akiyama, Daichi and Yasuo to look up on the boy that hurt you and Yuuta, little one," Ryuzaki-sensei said as she looked at her granddaughter. She gave a thin smile. "Where he's going, that young man won't be rollerblading for quite a while."

Her eyes wide, Sakuno stared at her grandmother. "They didn't do anything that would make them regret it would they?"

Yuuta looked at Sakuno and scowled at her. "Sakuno-chan, you know we're talking about a punk who fights dirty. Need I remind you that the punk gave you a black eye and nearly smashed your face in with his fist again before I nailed him with the kabocha?"

"I know that, oniisan, but I just don't want my uncles get into trouble," Sakuno fretted as she looked at her grandmother. "He's not dead is he? The uncles didn't kill him, did they?"

"There won't be any regrets if he is, sensei," Fuji said with a smile. His eyes met with his teacher's in perfect understanding. "I take it Ryuzaki-chan's uncles thought the same thing? That it would be a pity if he went away unscathed?"

With a feral smile, Ryuzaki looked at Fuji then at Yuuta. "Let's just say that he's thought long and hard about his mistakes after the discussion Daichi. And he won't be making anymore."

"Oh dear," Sakuno said as she closed her eyes and shook her head. "Not Uncle Daichi. Obaasan really didn't send him, did she?"

"Yes, she did send your Uncle Daichi," Ryuzaki said calmly. "And that just shows you how upset your Obaasan was."

"Maybe I shouldn't have hidden Obaasan's katana," Sakuno sighed as she shook her head.

Mizuki smiled weakly as he looked from grandmother to granddaughter. "Her katana?"

"Your grandmother has a katana?" Yuuta asked, bemused.

"She does," Ryuzaki nodded curtly. "But you don't have to worry about that. Now, Sakuno's other grandmother wanted to thank you so she got something. It should arrive in a day or so. She's really sorry that she could not meet and give it to you in person."

"What did Obaasan get?" Sakuno asked as she looked at her grandmother curiously.

"With your Obaasan, who knows?" Sumire shrugged. "Are you ready to go now? Fuji?"

"I'll be ready as soon as I help clean up," Fuji said as stood. "Ryuzaki, why don't you get cleaned up and we'll take care of this mess here."

Sakuno looked at her sempai doubtfully but was halted from any protest when her grandmother agreed. "Now that sounds good. Sakuno, shoo!"

"Ah- hai!" Sakuno said as she headed towards the bathroom. "I'll be back soon."

As soon as she was out of sight, Sumire looked at Yuuta and gave him a grateful smile. "Again, my family and I thank you for taking care of Sakuno. She is very precious to us."

"It's- it was not a problem," Yuuta stammered. He glanced at his brother then away. "I helped because it was just something my family taught me to do. To not let a bully hurt a girl."

"Either way, you made a very favorable impression on my girl. She called you a real hero and has decided to adopt you as her brother," Ryuzaki said as she smiled at Yuuta's blushing face. "Just be prepared to have a little sister, whether you like it or not. If she bothers you too much, let me know. I might be able to stop her."

"Uh- yes ma'am," Yuuta stammered, his face red.

"I think it'd be very nice to have a little sister," Fuji smiled as he looked at Yuuta. He grinned. "You always wanted to be an older brother and not be the youngest. So here you are, a ready made sister, Yuuta! And she thinks you're a real hero to boot!"

"Aniki!" Yuuta scowled as his face got redder.

"I'm all cleaned up, Obaachan!" Sakuno called out as she came up to her grandmother. "And I have some wet paper towels to clean up the tables. We can go as soon as I clean up-"

"All right, but we have to hurry, it's getting late and I still have to drive Fuji home," Ryuzaki said as she looked at her watch.

"I think the team can do that," Akazawa said as he took the wet paper towels from her. "Nomura, Mizuki, Atsushi- go wash these bentos. Yanagisawa and Kaneda- clean up these tables. I'll go throw out the trash. Yuuta, why don't you walk them out?"

"That sounds like a good idea," Fuji said as he got his tennis bag. "By the way, I've always wanted to see your room, can I?"

"Ah, sure Aniki," Yuuta said as he looked at his brother then at Sakuno and her grandmother. "Would you like to see-"

Sakuno was about to agree then stopped when she felt her grandmother's hand on her shoulders. Ryuzaki-sensei shook her head. "I'll just you two have some family time together. We'll just stay here and wait."

"I won't be long, sensei," Fuji said with a smile.

* * *

"And here's the last of it, Yuuta," Fuji said as he passed over the bread and raspberry jam.

"Thanks, Aniki," Yuuta said as he shut the trunk at the base of his bed. He looked at his brother, unsure of what to say. "Are you mad that I didn't tell you about the fight?"

Fuji shook his head. "Not at all- I knew you had a good reason to fight. I just wanted to know what it was and who it was with."

"I can take care of myself, Aniki," Yuuta scowled. "I'm not a little boy anymore."

"But you're always going to be my little brother, like it or not," Fuji said gently as he moved some tennis magazines and sat down on the bed. Yuuta's half of the dorm room was so typically Yuuta. It was filled with tennis posters and equipment, school books and manga. "And to quote a little girl, 'It's what family does when someone they love about gets hurt, they want to rip the heads off of the people who hurt the ones they love. And it's okay to feel that- just don't do it.'"

Yuuta smiled at that. "Sakuno-chan said that?"

"She did," Fuji smiled. He looked at the ceiling as he absently noted the books on Yuuta's desk. "You know, I thought that she was your girlfriend when we were coming here."

Yuuta stared at his brother. "Her? She's a child!"

Amused, Fuji looked at Yuuta's stunned face. "She's a year younger than you."

"But she acts so much younger," Yuuta protested. He shook his head in confusion as he sat beside his brother. "And she likes to cry. She cried for at least thirty minutes on Friday. And it was all about her lost fruit- not how hurt or scared she was. It was all about the fruit. She's nothing like Neesan, Aniki."

"No girl is like, Neesan, Yuuta," Fuji laughed. "The world couldn't handle the two of them."

"That's true," Yuuta admitted as he let out a chuckle. Amiable silence reigned between the two for a moment. "Aniki- can you watch over her while at Seigaku? From what she said and what I've seen, she's quite, well- um-"

"Clumsy? Accident-prone?" Fuji smiled as he looked at him. "Her lack of co-ordination is quite renown in the school. I think the nurse's office has a bed named just for her."

Yuuta winced. "She's that bad?"

"Sometimes she's worse," Fuji nodded with a smile. "I think she once fell down a small flight of stairs because a second-year didn't see her. It nearly gave Ryuzaki-sensei a heart attack. Oishi then decided that we should watch out for her if we're anywhere near her- especially the regulars to watch over her- which mainly leaves the task up to Echizen, since he's in the same grade."

"I see," Yuuta said smiling. "I guess that's a good thing that she's watched over. She needs it."

"It seems so," Fuji said with a big smile. Amiable silence again came to the room, once again leaving the two to their thoughts.

"I guess you'd better be going now," Yuuta said hesitantly.

"Yes, we have an early morning practice tomorrow," Fuji nodded as he stood. He watched as his brother made towards the door and smiled as he remembered a time when his brother could barely reach the door knob. When did he grow so big? "You know, Yuuta, I will always think of you as my little brother-"

Yuuta scowled as he glared at his brother. "Aniki-"

Fuji stopped to clasp his brother on the shoulder. "But I will never wonder about the time you became a man. I'm very proud of you, Yuuta."

Yuuta's eyes grew big as he looked at his brother. The brother he always looked up to. He just didn't know what to say. "Aniki-"

Fuji nodded as he smiled at Yuuta then wrapped an arm around Yuuta's shoulders. "Come, walk me to the car, my little brother- Yuuta the real hero."

Yuuta groaned. "Is there anything that I can do to make you forget that?"

"Nope, not a thing," Fuji answered cheerfully. "Besides, I think it has a nice ring to it."

"You're going to tease me about it, aren't you?"

"Oh, positively."

"Will you tell Neesan?"

"Absolutely."

"You're all heart, Aniki."

"What are brothers for?"

"I was being sarcastic."

"I know."

* * *

Yuuta yawned as the car lights disappeared from view. He started walking into the lobby of the dorm. "Now that was a good meal."

"I'm surprised she can cook so well," Mizuki said as he stroked his chin thoughtfully. "My second oldest sister can only burn water for instant ramen."

"Don't you mean that she can only heat up water for instant ramen, da-ne?" Yanagisawa said as he looked at Mizuki.

"No, she burns water," Mizuki said slowly as he looked at Yanagisawa. "Literally."

"Hey Yuuta! Since she's cooked you several bentos, does this mean that she's your girlfriend, Yuuta?" Nomura asked curiously as he opened his can of soda. "Girls always cook for their heroes and then later become their girlfriends."

"Huh?" Yuuta goggled as he stared at the third-year with glasses. "Huh?"

Nomura was oblivious as he continued speaking, "That would good if she's your girlfriend, especially since you've promised to give her tennis lessons whenever you can find some free time. Because when she is, this means that you'll be eating-Ow! Ow!"

"What are you talking about, sempai?" Yuuta demanded as he ground his knuckles into his sempai's head. "Don't you start thinking that! She's like a sister to me!"

* * *

"Did you have a nice time, Sakuno?" Sumire Ryuzaki asked her granddaughter.

"I had a very nice time, Obaachan," Sakuno said happily. "I'm so glad that Yuuta-oniisan liked the food. Do you think it would be too much if I cooked some more for him when he gives me my lessons?"

"It was very good food," Fuji said as he looked at Ryuzaki. She wasn't as spiritless as he thought she was. She was just very shy, needed looking after and was hip deep in her hero-worship of Yuuta. In short, she was something that Yuuta needed- a person who didn't care who his older brother was. Thinking about that, Fuji made a decision and smiled. "And I think Yuuta would like it very much if you would cook for him, Sakuno-chan. I can call you that, can't I?"

Sakuno blinked as she turned from her seat and looked at Fuji-sempai. "Of- of course, sempai."

"No, no- you must call me 'oniisan', just like you call Yuuta 'oniisan', Sakuno-chan," Fuji said with a smile. "Syusuke-oniisan."

"Ha-hai, Fuji-sem- I mean, Syusuke-oniisan," Sakuno stammered then frowned. "I think it might take getting used to."

"It's all right, Sakuno-chan," Fuji smiled at her. "Take your time- I've only just adopted you, Sakuno-chan." His eyes grew soft and unnoticed in the dark of the car. _'And I'll take care of you for Yuuta.' _"So what else can you cook, Sakuno-chan?"

End

**

* * *

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* * *

**Author's note: Sorry! It just came out long! I wanted to give Sakuno a little history on why we never get to see her parents.**


	3. Revealing Ginka's Nightmare

**Author's Notes (1): It happens after Episode 41 (Trouble). I think this the episode where ****Ginka finds out that Ryoma is the amazing first year as well as the nameless demon that beat them in Episode 37 (Tennis ball with Ryoma's Face)**

**Author's Notes (2): Okay, my memory sucks. I can't remember the exact words and I don't ****speak a lick of Japanese, please forgive me.**

**Author's Note (3): Whoops, changed the word for big brother from a younger female. Thus ****the word, 'oneesan' changed to 'oniisan'. (See, TOLD you I don't know a ****lick of Japanese. :# ) (date: 10-5-2005)**

* * *

**Title: Revealing Ginka's Nightmare**

* * *

Sakuno held her breath as she looked at the Ginka Junior High School Tennis Club as they lined up on the other side of the net, opposite of Seigaku. She had overheard her grandmother say that they were a very strong team. She bit her lip as she looked at them closely. They looked like a bunch of wild men… and somehow they looked vaguely familiar.

"Seigaku! Ginka! Are you all here?" the referee asked.

"Hai!" shouted both teams.

"Are you ready to play, Seigaku?" the referee shouted.

"Hai," shouted Seigaku.

"Are you ready to play, Ginka?" the referee shouted.

"Are you ready, men?" shouted someone from Ginka's team.

"Hai!" shouted all the members of Ginka's team. Then all at once they shouted, "We can't play! Our stomachs are upset! We feel sick! We give up!"

Sakuno's jaw dropped as she heard their cries. Minutes later, Seigaku was declared the winner by default and Ginka started lining up to leave the court. She stared as she saw the faces of team Ginka leave the courts and could hear the buzzing in her ears. She vaguely heard Tomoko shout something about the fearsome strength of Seigaku and Ryoma-kun.

Then it hit her. She ran to her grandmother and grabbed her sleeve. "Obaachan! Obaachan! It's them! It's them!"

"Eh? What are you shouting about Sakuno?" her grandmother asked.

"Obaachan! It's them! The ones that I told you about!" Sakuno said as she pointed at the retreating Ginka. Some of them paused to look back at her curiously. Panicking, she went behind her grandmother.

"They're the ones that you told me about?" Ryuzaki-sensei repeated as she looked at her granddaughter in confusion. "What are you talking about? Who are they?"

"Sakuno! What's wrong?" Tomoko demanded as she looked at her friend.

"Tomo-chan!" Sakuno swung around and looked at her friend and forced her to look at the tennis club from Ginka. "They're the ones, Tomo-chan! Remember? The ones that wouldn't give us our balls back last week!"

Tomoko looked confusedly at the retreating team then her eyes widened. She marched over to the fence and shouted, "Yeah! You'd better run you cowards! Run as fast as you can! You're no match for my Ryoma-sama! He'll whip your thieving selves again if you show up here! And he'll take your balls again too!"

"Tomoko! Such language! It's unbecoming!" Ryuzaki-sensei said as she walked over and looked at her. "You know better!"

Confused, Tomoko looked at Sakuno's grandmother. "Ha-hai."

Inui came over to Sakuno and looked at her. "I take it that you know Ginka, Ryuzaki?"

Sakuno's eyes widened as she looked at her tall sempai. "Ha-hai, Inui-sempai. I-I sort-sort of know the-them."

"Can you give me the reason that you sort of know them?" Inui asked as he poised his pen over his notebook. "In detail if you can, please."

"Ha-hai," Sakuno stammered. "Ano I, uh, eto, uh-"

"Well?" Inui asked as he looked closer at her. Her eyes wide, Sakuno couldn't help but step back from him.

"Inui, you're scaring her," Oishi scolded as he looked at Ryuzaki's face, her eyes looked as if they were about to take over half her face. "Ryuzaki, how do you know Ginka?"

Sakuno's eyes went wider as she stared at Oishi-sempai. "Ano I-uh- well-"

"Oishi-sempai, you're not any better," Ryoma said as stepped next to Ryuzaki. He lowered his cap. "She and Osakada- they met them last Sunday."

"And how do you know this Echizen?" Momo demanded as he looked at Echizen curiously. He started to smile as an idea hit him. "Were you with them?"

"Ochibi! Were you double dating them?" Kikumaru asked with wide eyes. "My, you're active!"

"Eh?" Sakuno cried as she stared at Kikumaru-sempai. "Eh?"

"Ah! This is youth!" Momo sighed dreamily then glared at Echizen. "But to double date without telling your sempai!"

"It's nothing like that, sempai!" Echizen said loudly as he glared at the curious sempai-tachi.

"It wasn't a date! It was nothing like a date! Really!" Sakuno cried out as she looked at the sempai-tachi frantically. Her face getting redder by the second. "It was supposed a tennis lesson with Ryoma-kun's father! Obaachan! She made arrangements! Echizen-san- he was supposed to give me a tennis lesson! But Ryoma-kun showed up instead!"

Frowning, Fuji looked at her. "Last Sunday? Were they the ones that you saw last Sunday? Are those guys from the tennis club that you told me about?"

Sakuno nodded her head as she looked at Syusuke-oniisan. "Hai, they're the ones that were bullying me when Tomo-chan and I were getting tennis lessons from Ryoma-kun. The ones that hid my tennis balls from me!"

"And Ryoma-sama beat them real good for bullying Sakuno," Tomoko announced as she gave an adoring look at her beloved Ryoma-sama. "Just as a big idiot was about to hit Sakuno with his racket, Ryoma-sama stopped him in his tracks!" She sighed and made eyes at Ryoma again, smiling as he pulled his cap down lower. "And then he challenged the whole club!"

"Someone tried to do what?" Fuji asked in dulcet tones. He looked at Sakuno with a frown. "You didn't tell me that someone was trying to hit you with a racket."

"It's- it's all right," Sakuno stammered as she tried to smile under Syusuke-oniisan's intense glare. "Really- I wasn't hurt!"

"I took care of him, Fuji-sempai," Ryoma said as he looked at Fuji-sempai straight in the eye. "He didn't hurt her."

Pushing up his glasses, Inui lifted his head and stared from Fuji and Ryuzaki to Osakada then looked towards Tezuka and Oishi. He cleared his throat. "How did you take care of him?"

"It-it really wasn't anything serious," Sakuno stammered quickly as she looked at Inui-sempai.

"No, but it was really great!" Tomoko said enthusiastically. "All that was missing was the gushing of blood!"

"Tomo-chan!" Sakuno said loudly. Tezuka and Oishi looked at each other then Tezuka stepped up in front of Osakada.

Tezuka looked at Osakada. "So tell, what did Echizen do?"

"Nyah! Yeah! What did Ochibi do?" Kikumaru yelped as he stared at the girl as her eyes grew round at Tezuka's rapt attention.

As she remembered it, Tomoko sighed dreamily, "He challenged the whole club to a tennis match and he won."

Fuji stared at Osakada then at Echizen. "She nearly gets hit with a tennis racket and you challenge the entire team? That's how you took care of it?"

"Sakuno was nearly what? Ryoma did what?" demanded Sakuno's grandmother loudly. Tomoko let out a small squeak and darted behind Sakuno as she walked up to the two girls. "Can you repeat that again?"

"Ano um," Tomoko stammered as she looked at Sakuno's grandmother. "Ano"

"Sakuno, what happened?" demanded the coach of Seigaku. "Is this true?"

Sakuno looked up at her grandmother and gave her a placating smile. "I told you everything that happened, Obaachan."

"Humor me and tell me again what happened," Ryuzaki-sensei said as she crossed her arms.

Sakuno darted a look at Ryoma then at her grandmother. "Well, ano I told you that that there were a bunch of guys who were making me look through a basket of balls they spilled. And while I was looking, they kept my balls from me. Then Ryoma-kun came and to help me. And since it was taking so long and they were getting meaner by the second, Ryoma-kun told them that he would play them. If he beat them, then they would pick up ten balls and give them to him. The same thing if he lost."

"I think there's something vital missing in that version, Ryuzaki," Tezuka said as he looked at the coach's granddaughter.

Sakuno let out a weak chuckle as she scratched the back of her head. "Really? What part could I be missing?"

Fuji crossed his arms and was about to speak when Sumire Ryuzaki intervened. "How about the part where you were almost hit with a racket? When did that happen? And why didn't you tell me about that part?"

Sakuno gave her grandmother a weak smile. "I didn't tell you because it didn't happen?"

"It just almost happened," Fuji said in careful tones, his eyes intense and angry. "You were almost hit with a racket. So when did it almost happen?"

"What I want to know is why it didn't happen," Tezuka announced as he crossed his arms and looked at Echizen then at Ryuzaki.

"It- it stopped because Ryoma-kun stopped him," Sakuno said weakly.

"Yeah! He went wham! And they stopped! He knocked that guy down flat on his ass!" Tomoko gushed as she looked at her Ryoma-sama.

"Tomoko!" Sakuno scolded.

"Ochibi! You fought with a guy twice your size!" Kikumaru gasped. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"How did you take them on? Did you take karate when you were younger?" Momo asked, deeply impressed. "You're such a youth to protect your Ryuzaki like that! You should have told us that you beat them up!"

"You shouldn't have taken them all on! You could have gotten seriously hurt!" Oishi scolded as he looked at the boy for some type of injuries.

"I didn't beat them up," Echizen muttered as he glared at Momo. "And she's not my Ryuzaki."

Blushing at Momo-sempai and Ryoma-kun's words, Sakuno stammered, "He didn't fight with all of them- he only challenged them to a game!"

"Sakuno! No more going around the subject!" Ryuzaki-sensei ordered as she glared at her granddaughter. "Now tell me what happened starting when that Ginka was about to hit you with his racket!"

"The one was about to hit me with his racket- Ryoma-kun stopped him by hitting him with his own ball," Sakuno said quickly. "He nailed him on the cheek with a tennis ball. It went through a small opening in the fence! And that's how the Ginka was knocked down, Obaasan! Ryoma-kun wasn't in any fight!"

Ryuzaki-sensei's eyebrow twitched. "And you didn't tell me this because?"

"Because you would get angry like you are now?" Sakuno said meekly. "And Ryoma-kun would get in trouble for playing a team outside the courts? And it really wasn't fighting because there were no fists involved so there wasn't really a reason to tell!"

"Is that all that happened?" Ryuzaki-sensei asked as she raised her eyebrow. "What about what happened on the courts when Ryoma played them? The team?"

Sakuno looked down at her feet then at her grandmother. Her eyes were angry. "Well, while they were playing, some of them were acting like that Sasabe-san from the train. They were cheating while self-judging. That was very bad of them! They deserved to have their balls taken!"

"You mean to say that Echizen played the whole team?" Momo yelped as he looked at Echizen, his mouth open in shock. He vaguely heard Kaidoh hiss. "You actually won against all thirty? You didn't lose a game? How-?"

Ryoma lowered his cap. "Mada mada dane."

"Of course Ryoma-sama didn't loose any game!" Tomoko bragged as she peeked from behind Sakuno. "He made out with 300 balls and took them all home!"

"When did you leave the courts?" Inui asked as he looked at the young Ryuzaki who shrugged then looked at Osakada.

"I think it was just about three?" Osakada estimated as she looked at Sakuno for confirmation. "About three because I got home at three forty."

"And I had just gotten to Ginka Junior High at three twenty," Inui muttered as he shut his book. He adjusted his glasses and looked at his teammates. "So that was why they were all out of breath- they had just finished playing Echizen."

Oishi stared at the Seigaku data man. "Inui, you can't mean that-"

"I do," Inui said with a nod. "The hard training they went through-"

"Was because they were done playing with Echizen," Tezuka said as he eyed the youngest member of the Seigaku team.

Sakuno's eyes widened as she heard Kaidoh-sempai hiss in displeasure. She looked at Ryoma-kun in alarm. "Oh dear- Ryoma-kun."

Lowering his cap against his buchou's glare and the growing hisses of Kaidoh-sempai, Echizen started walking away slowly.

Momo stared at Inui. "Inui-sempai- then you mean-"

"All that running," Kawamura stammered as he stared at Inui.

"All the hard training!" Kikumaru wailed. "And the Penal Tea! Ochibi!"

"Was all because of Echizen!" Momo growled as he glared at where Echizen was standing. His jaw dropped when he saw nothing but space. "Where the hell are you? Echizen! Get back here!"

"Ochibi! Where are you, nyah?" Kikumaru shouted as he looked around for the boy. "Ochibi! Get over here, nyah! Oishi! Help! Kaidoh! Taka-san! Inui! You help look for him too!"

Shrugging, Inui grabbed his green book and started walking down towards the soda machines. "It's a seventy percent possibility that he's there."

"Where is that brat," Kaidoh muttered as he started off in the direction opposite Momoshiro.

"Eiji! You're not going to hurt Echizen until after the games!" Oishi said as he followed his doubles partner.

"I'll help look for Ryoma-sama!" Tomoko called out happily as she started yelling for him at the top of her lungs. "Ryoma-sama! Ryoma-sama!"

"Just make sure that you're all here in twenty minutes!" Ryuzaki-sensei called out. "And make sure that you have him with you!"

Biting her lip, Sakuno looked at her grandmother. "Obaachan, are you very upset with me for not telling you everything?"

"Yes, I am, Sakuno," Sumire said as she looked at her granddaughter. She sighed as she looked at Sakuno's crestfallen face. "But seeing as it was you weren't hurt and that Ryoma had prevented you from getting hurt- I can be less angry. Next time just tell me everything, neh?"

"Hai, Obaachan!" Sakuno said happily. "Neh, I was so surprised to see that Ginka and those bullies were one and the same, Obaachan!"

"And I bet they were more surprised, Sakuno-chan," Fuji laughed as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "To see Echizen here, it must have been a nightmare come true!"

Sakuno thought about it then giggled. "I guess it was, Syusuke-oniisan. So Ryoma-kun scared them twice!"

"That he did," Fuji laughed again. "While everyone's off to find Echizen, do you want to see Yuuta before his game starts?"

Sakuno clapped her hands happily. "That's right! Yuuta-oniisan is playing today! Obaachan, can I go? I want to give him something."

"Just don't get lost," warned her grandmother as she sat down with a chart. "Stay close to Fuji."

"Hai," Sakuno said as she opened the cooler, took out a small bento and grabbed a shopping bag that had two loaves of bread. "Ready."

Taking the bag from her, Fuji started down the path. "So what did you make for Yuuta this time, Sakuno-chan?"

"Just some fruit salad, white bread and banana bread," Sakuno said happily as she walked beside him. "Do you think Yanagisawa-san is going to be there?"

Puzzled, Fuji looked at her. "He is a regular, why shouldn't he be there? Why?"

"It's just that he scares me," Sakuno confessed as her cheeks grew red. "I keep thinking that his jaw is going to unhinge like a snake's and he's going to swallow me."

Fuji looked at her for a second then burst out laughing.

* * *

Leaning against the side of the soda machine, Ryoma sipped his Ponta, relishing the fruity taste of the drink. Hearing people coming, he stepped to the other side, hiding himself from view. His ears perked up when he heard a familiar voice.

"Do you think Yanagisawa-san is going to be there?"

Ryoma let out a breath of relief. It seemed that Ryuzaki was being usual oblivious herself and she didn't see him. But who was she talking to?

"He is a regular, why shouldn't he be there? Why?"

Ryoma's eyes widened and he nearly dropped his Ponta as he recognized that soft voice. Peeking around, he saw Fuji-sempai and Ryuzaki walk together down the path towards the other tennis courts- where the consolation games were being played. Why was she going there? And why was she with Fuji-sempai?

Ryoma felt his brow lower as he watched Fuji-sempai let out a laugh. What was so funny? And why was he standing so close to Ryuzaki? And what was she doing with Fuji-sempai? Feeling vaguely irritated and curious, he lowered his hat and was about to follow them.

"Echizen! There you are!" shouted Momo-sempai. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Ochibi! You get back here!" Kikumaru-sempai shouted as he stomped his feet.

"Now calm down, Eiji," Oishi-sempai said soothingly as he looked at his partner and at Momo. "You, too, Momo. Echizen, come back to the courts at once."

"Hai," Ryoma muttered as he gave one last irritated glance towards the direction whereRyuzaki and Fuji-sempai disappeared to.

* * *

"Hmm, ii data," Inui said as he looked in his green book. The one that was solely reserved for the private matters of his team.

**Proof 1: Fuji was walking towards consolation games.**

**Proof 2: Yuuta Fuji and St. Rudolph are playing consolation games.**

**Conclusion: Fuji is visiting his brother before the games started.**

Inui tapped the pencil against his chin before writing some more.

**Fact A: Ryuzaki was walking with Fuji towards the consolation games. **

**Fact B: She was carrying a bento box with her. **

**Fact C: Fuji was carrying something in a bag.**

**Question A: Why was Ryuzaki with Fuji?**

**Question B: What was Fuji carrying? Was it his? Or Ryuzaki's?**

**Therom 1: Fuji and Ryuzaki are dating.**

**Therom 2: Ryuzaki and Yuuta Fuji are dating.**

**Conclusion: Inconclusive. Need more data.**

Then turning a page, Inui wrote:

**Observation 1: Echizen seemed disturbed to see Ryuzaki walking with Fuji.**

**Observation 2: Momo, Kikumaru and Oishi have bad timing.**

**Conclusion: Inconclusive. Need more data.**

Looking over his notes, Inui shut his book, satisfied that he would get the answers to his questions soon enough. But for now, there was a game with Yamabuki to be observed.

End

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**Author's Note (4): I'm pretty sure that Sakuno was nearly hit with a racket. It was that or the guy's hand and he was about to slap her. Either way, Ryoma really did nail the a$$wipe with a tennis ball. Go Ryoma!**

**PS. Someone'sreview just wrote that she was about to be slapped. sigh please forgive me- I'll correct it when I have the time.**


	4. A Little Cut to The Heart

**Author's Notes (1): This involves mainly the Kawamura family and Sakuno. It happens before or while Episode 49 (English trans: Different Kind of Fight) and definitely before they meet up with Hyotei.**

**Author's Notes (2): Okay, my Japanese sucks. I'm having Sakuno call her father 'Daddy' in English since it's easier for me.**

**Author's Notes (3): Yabusame: mounted archery; Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine: Located **

**45km southwest of Tokyo in Kamakura. For more info look at the website: I figured it would be a nice side note because, well, why not? Also, yes, those garnishes are real. In one of my book-addiction-spending sprees, I once spent about five books on how to make garnishes. I have no idea why, but they are fun, if very detail oriented to make.**

**_Warning: At the end there's a Nanjiroh/Rinko scene. It gets a PG rating there- Nothing graphic. Just two adults in an adult relationship. And a little Nanjiroh reasoning about the Shinto religion just to get his way. You don't have to read it to get the story, just thought I'd put something there for Nanjiroh and Rinko fans._**

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* * *

****Title: A Little Cut to the Heart**

* * *

Sakuno sighed as she listened to her Obaachan on the cell phone. "Oh dear. Are you sure that you're all right? Okay, so what does Obaachan want me to do? Go where? I think I know how to get there. Are you sure that it'll be all right? Okay. All right. Okay- I'll see you later."

As she hung up the phone, Sakuno sighed again as she looked up at the late afternoon sun and gathered up her overnight bag. "At least it's not raining."

Sighing again, Sakuno shook her head as she started towards the bus stop.

Sakuno stood outside the sushi restaurant, debating if she should just walk in or if she should just try and call up Tomoko again.

"Ah! Ryuzaki! There you are!" called out a voice as the door opened. "Obaasan just called to say that you were coming over! Oyaji- Ryuzaki-sensei's granddaughter is here!"

"Oh! Kawamura-sempai!" Sakuno started as she looked up at the tall senior. She immediately bowed low to him and his father. "I'm so sorry for troubling you!"

"It's no trouble at all," Kawamura-sempai said as he took Ryuzaki's overnight bag and led her into the restaurant. "We don't mind watching over you while Obaasan is delayed."

Kawamura-san smiled as he looked at the young girl. "Sit! Sit! Did you eat yet? Are you hungry? I can make something for you if you want to eat. Want a bowl of U-don? Soba? Sushi?"

"Ano I'm sorry but I'm not hungry, thank you," Sakuno said shyly as she followed Kawamura-sempai and sat at the farthest corner of the sushi bar, nearest to the kitchen. "I already ate with my Obaasan and her friends before I came."

"So where are you coming from?" Kawamura-sempai asked as he started to tie an apron around his waist. "Did you have a nice weekend?"

"Oh, it was fun," Sakuno said with a shy smile. "My late mother's godfather, Sanada Jiji-san, took me to see a flower and gardening display and then a kite show. And my mother's mother, Obaasan, took all of us to a martial arts district competition and then we all went horse-back riding. Oh, and I saw the some riders doing yabusame training for the Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine festival. It was amazing!"

Kawamura blinked as he looked at the little girl and passed her a cup of tea. "Your Obaasan took you to a martial arts district competition? I never knew that you were interested in martial arts!"

"Oh, I'm not very interested in it… not like most of my family is," Sakuno blushed as she took the tea. "They have balance, I don't. And you need balance in martial arts."

Remembering the accidents the girl often found herself in, Kawamura said kindly, "You can learn to keep your balance."

Chuckling at herself, Sakuno shook her head. "It doesn't work, sempai. And after several attempts that have landed me in the hospital, I finally gave up. Everyone says I'm too much like how Mama was when she was younger- I have no balance unless I'm riding something- which is all really strange if you think about it."

"I'm sure that works out better than it sounds," Kawamura said kindly with a smile.

"It does," Sakuno said earnestly. "Anyway, my family, they're very much into martial arts. Obaachan said that Daddy even won a few competitions himself when he was younger."

"My son was very interested in martial arts when he was younger and he wasn't so bad at it," Kawamura-san laughed as he came over and looked affectionately at his son. "Taka spent six years studying it before his interests moved on to tennis. He's such a flippant guy!"

"You really should say things like that, Oyaji," Kawamura blushed as he scratched his head. "I'm her sempai. What would she think of me when you say these things?"

"Nothing bad, I'm sure," Kawamura-san shot back. He looked at the small girl. "Isn't that right, little one?"

"Ha-hai!" Sakuno blushed as she looked earnestly at Kawamura-sempai. "Kawamura-sempai is a very nice sempai and he's really gentle… when he's not holding a racket."

"That's very true," Kawamura-san chuckled as he looked at his blushing son. "Anyway, Taka, you may have to pull double duty tonight. Our regular helper cannot come in today and Murai will be an hour late."

"Is there anything that I can do, Kawamura-san?" Sakuno asked hesitantly. "I can try to help out until Obaachan comes."

"You can just sit there and look pretty," Kawamura-san winked. As he was about to say something else, a couple of customers walked in. "Hello! Welcome! Taka! Menus!"

Sighing and feeling a bit useless, Sakuno watched as Kawamura-sempai and his father serve the steady flow of people coming into the small family restaurant. She sighed again as she tapped her fingers on the counter.

"Hello, can I help you with your order?" asked a kind voice. Sakuno looked up to see a pretty middle-aged woman looking down at her.

"Oh no, I'm sorry. I'm not a customer," Sakuno said quickly as she shook her head. "I'm just waiting at Kawamura-sempai's for Obaachan."

"Oh, I see, you must be Ryuzaki-sensei's granddaughter then," said the woman with a gentle smile. "I'm your sempai's mother. And what is your name?"

"I'm Ryuzaki Sakuno," Sakuno said with a shy smile. "I hope that I'm not a bother to you."

"Oh no, you aren't," Kawamura-san said as she looked at the girl and then at the restaurant. "But I don't think that you should stay here, it's going to be busy very soon. It's almost supper time."

"Where should I go?" Sakuno asked worriedly. "I asked Kawamura-san if I could help since it seems that he's shorthanded but he doesn't want me to do anything. Isn't there anything that I can do?"

"I think we can think of something that you can do," smiled Kawamura-sempai's mother as she led the little girl in pigtails into the kitchens. "What say you can start helping me with the small things first?"

"Yes, ma'am," Sakuno smiled as she followed Kawamura-san into the kitchen.

* * *

"That was a delicious meal as usual, Kawamura-san," said a customer as he helped his wife into her jacket.

"And the dessert was quite tasty and the garnishes quite clever," said his wife as she looked at Kawamura-san. "I didn't know that your wife had such a hidden talent."

"My wife is a woman of many talents, Tanaka-san," Kawamura-san said proudly though he was confused at what the woman was talking about. "Please come again!"

"Thank you, please come again," Kawamura said as he looked up from the table he was cleaning. "I'm so tired!"

"Well, now we've finally got a small break!" sighed the elder Kawamura as he wiped his forehead with his sleeve. He looked at his son. "That was a nice dinner rush. You did well, Taka. You may inherit this store with full honors yet! But you still have much to learn before you work with your old man!"

"Arigato, Oyaji!" his son blushed as he scratched the back of his head. "Hai! I agree that I have much to learn!"

"That's right!" Kawamura-san grinned as he beamed at his son. He turned to talk to the coach's granddaughter. "What do you think little Miss? Eh? Where'd she go? Taka, did she leave?"

"Where did who go?" Kawamura asked as he looked up from the table he was cleaning. He followed to where his father was staring and dropped his rag. "Eh? Where did sensei's granddaughter go?"

"I don't know!" Kawamura-san said with some alarm. He came around the counter to meet his son in the middle of the restaurant. "Could she have left without telling us?"

"She wouldn't do that, I think, and I know Obaasan would let us know if she were here to take her away," Kawamura said as he shook his head. "Maybe she's in the restroom. I'll go check."

"And I'll ask your mother if she saw the little one, Taka," Kawamura-san said as he started towards the kitchen. "Wife, have you seen-"

"Oh, my, isn't that pretty!" Kawamura-san exclaimed as she clasped her hands together, admiring the small radish that was shaped like a polka-dot mushroom. She admired the banana shaped like an arch around the plate of fruit, the strawberry fans, a whimsical strawberry dog, miniature mushroom cap basket, the braided chives and the pineapple fruit boat. "My garnishes don't look half as pretty as what you have here. You are quite talented with that pairing knife, Sakuno-chan!"

"I'm not really good at it. It just takes a lot of practice," Sakuno blushed at the praise. "Oh, Kawamura-san! Is Obaachan here?"

"No, she's not. We were just looking for you," Kawamura-san said with a great sigh. He looked over his shoulder and yelled, "Taka! I found her! She's with your mother! So what are you doing here, Ryuzaki-chan?"

"Just look at all these pretty things she made using that small paring knife and corer, husband," Kawamura's mother said as she looked at her husband. "Aren't they just clever? And she made all the desserts look prettier as well!"

"My, so that was what Tanaka-san meant," said Kawamura's father as he scratched his chin and admired the garnishes. "So you were the one that was decorating all the food."

"You found her?" Kawamura exclaimed as he came into the kitchen. He leaned against the kitchen island and patted his heart down. "Lucky! I thought that something had happened to you while I wasn't looking!"

"Oh! I'm sorry I didn't mean to frighten you, sempai!" Sakuno cried out as she started to bow in apology. "I'm sorry! It's just that I was just having so much fun here in the kitchen with sempai's mother that I-"

"It's all right, it's all right, Sakuno-chan. My son and husband are easily excited," Kawamura's mother said as she waved away Sakuno's apology. "Taka-chan, look at what she's been doing! Isn't it adorable?"

"Oh, so you're the one that's been making all the little garnishes in the dishes," Kawamura said as he picked up a small mushroom-radish. "I was wondering since when did my mother have time to do all the decorations."

"Oh, was I doing something wrong?" Sakuno asked worriedly as she looked up at her sempai.

"Not at all, in fact we had a lot of compliments for your work," Kawamura's father chuckled as he picked up a small braided chive. "These are very pretty." He lifted the miniature mushroom cap basket. "And how did you make this?" Then lifted the strawberry dog. "And this? Are these beans for the eyes? And how did you get it to stay like this?"

"Hai! I used a toothpick to hold the two strawberries together after I carved out room for the beans for the eyes. And for the mushroom basket, I cut the stem out of the mushroom and trimmed the enoki mushrooms to put them into the cap," Sakuno explained with a blush. "It was very easy to make."

"Not by looking at this can you tell," Kawamura-san chuckled as he placed the small garnish down. "Taka- maybe you should learn how to garnish a little from this little one here! Keep up the good work!"

"Ha-hai! I will do my best," Sakuno blushed as she bowed. She shyly looked up at her sempai. "Ano did Obaachan come in yet?"

"No, not yet," Kawamura said as he shook his head. "But don't worry it's only been two hours since she last called. They were just towing her car then. I can't believe that you can use a small paring knife to make all this! So what else can you make? Ryuzaki?"

His father frowned. "Taka, why don't you call her Sakuno-chan? After all, you are babysitting her for your sensei."

Taka lifted a hand to scratch his head. "But wouldn't it be presumptuous?"

Sakuno's eyes widened as she bowed deeply. "Oh no! I would consider it an honor if you would call me that, sempai!"

"Then I guess I can call you that if you can call me 'Taka-san', Sakuno-chan," Kawamura said.

"But that would be too rude- Obaachan would be mad that I wasn't showing the proper respect and Obaasan would be horrified at my manners!" Sakuno shook her head vigorously. "And not to mention what my uncles and cousins would say!"

"Then how about just when you're here?" Kawamura-sempai's mother suggested as she looked at her son to Sakuno-chan.

Kawamura-san nodded in approval. "That should do it. Call him Taka-san while you're here, Sakuno-chan! We won't mind."

"Oh, okay," Sakuno stammered as she bowed. "Thank you very much for allowing me to call you that, sempai."

"No problem," Kawamura said as he waved it away. He tried to look nonchalant as he felt his cheeks get heated up. "So- what else can you make, Sa-Sakuno-chan?"

"I-I can make people's faces on fruits and carrot flowers and such, Kawamura-sem- I mean, Taka-san" Sakuno admitted with a nervous smile. She picked up a radish and started carving it. "The biggest knife I use is a steak knife. I can't use a big knife yet because I always cut myself with them. So both Obaachan and Obaasan keep them away from me."

"So this must mean that you're a good chef like my Taka-chan?" Kawamura's mother smiled as she looked at her son fondly.

Sakuno shook her head. "I can't cook very well yet. I get help from Obaachan and Obaasan when I try. But I am improving! There! A radish sempai!"

"How cute! Taka-chan, look at yourself!" exclaimed Kawamura's mother as she took the radish and cooed over it. "You are just so talented, Sakuno-chan!"

"That does look like me, doesn't it?" Kawamura chuckled as he took the radish from his mother and examined it. He looked at her speculatively. "Say, can you carve out the regulars without looking at them?"

Sakuno blinked as she looked at him. "If you would like me to, I can. Would you like me to carve fruits or radishes, sempai?"

"The radishes will do," Kawamura said as he picked up a knife and eyed the various vegetables around the table. "I'll make a special salad bento for lunch and they can decorate the bento. Won't the others be jealous when they see my good looking Seigaku Regulars' bento!"

"But these aren't good enough to decorate a bento," Sakuno stammered as two red spots appeared on her cheeks.

"Now, now, you're being too modest, Sakuno-chan," Kawamura's mother laughed as she patted the girl's back. "You really are quite talented. Didn't you hear my husband say that the customers thought that the decorations were quite cute and clever?"

"That's right, I heard more than three compliments today on the garnishes," Kawamura-san said with a loud laugh. He was about to say more when he heard the customer entrance bell ring. He called out, "Hello! I'll be with you in a moment- Keep up the good work, little miss!"

"Hello! How may I help- Echizen-kun! What are you doing here?" called out Kawamura-san as he looked over to see who the customer was.

"We were passing by and Oyaji said that wants some sushi for dinner," Echizen said as he pulled down his cap to cover his eyes. "Family style, please. And if you can, five bowls of miso soup."

"One order of family style sushi coming up and five bowls of miso," Kawamura-san said cheerfully as he started to prepare the fish. "If you want to see Taka while you wait, he's in the kitchen right now. Just walk in that way."

"Thank you," Ryoma said as he started to lazily walk towards the kitchen. He stopped when he vaguely heard the conversation going on.

"No, no. When holding a larger knife, you have to hold it like this, do you see?" said Kawamura-sempai. "It's almost like holding a tennis racket in front of you, like I sometimes do."

As Ryoma go closer, he heard a small voice then a loud, hesitant laugh that had to belong to his sempai. "No, I suppose you shouldn't yell out 'Burning!' like I do."

"Why don't you show her how to hold the knife like I taught you, Taka-chan?" called out a woman's voice. Ryoma lifted an eyebrow at the pet name of his sempai and wondered who he was talking to.

"I suppose there's no choice, let me show you how to hold it," sighed Kawamura-sempai. "I'll stand here and you know how to hold that paring knife while holding that radish. But since the handle and the onion you're cutting is bigger you now have to adjust your grip on both and-"

Now curious, Ryoma entered the kitchen and his eyes widened as he took in the sight of Kawamura-sempai standing closely right behind Ryuzaki at the kitchen island. And he had his arms wrapped around hers. Time stood still as he looked at the two of them, locked in their own little world and absolutely oblivious that he was there.

Ryoma felt his grip on reality start to slip further when she tilted her head to look up at a blushing Kawamura-sempai. He blinked hard as he felt his heart drop to somewhere below his knees. "What-"

"What are you standing there for, Ryoma?" asked a loud voice. Startled, Ryoma blankly looked up at his coach's face. "Is there something wrong there?"

Alarmed by the unknown voice, Kawamura-sempai's mother twirled around from the stove she was working at and saw an older woman with a young boy at the doorway. Curiously, she demanded, "Oh, hello! Can I help you? What are you doing in my kitchen?"

Distracted at the voices, Kawamura looked up to see who his mother was talking to. "Mother- what- Sensei! Echizen!"

"Obaa-Ai!" Sakuno yelped as she looked up from the onion she was cutting and sliced her finger. Pain flared up as blood started oozing from the small gash. "Ittai!"

"Ryuzaki! Are you all right?" Kawamura asked as he jumped back in alarm. He took one look at her profusely bleeding finger and blanched. He felt his head getting light at the sight of blood and started to fall forward. "Oh no- you're bleeding! Mother! She's bleeding! She's- ooh!"

"Sempai!" Sakuno cried as she felt a dead weight on her back and fell forward towards the counter. Desperate to grab something, she did and felt it following her and hitting her as she went down.

Everyone watched in slow motion as Takashi Kawamura fainted and slumped on the back of the much smaller Sakuno who went down like a battleship, her bloody hands trying to grasp anything that would keep her up. Except that she grabbed the cutting board loaded with partially cut onions, and they all went down with her.

Suddenly there was pandemonium in the small kitchen all at once.

"Takashi! Takashi! What's wrong?" Kawamura's mother cried out as she was at her son's side at once and pulled him into her arms. "Husband! Husband!"

"Ryuzaki!" Ryoma shouted as he fell to his knees and grabbed her shoulders, lifting her to her knees. "Oi! Ryuzaki!"

"Ittai! Ryo- Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno gasped blankly as she blinked her eyes at him. "What are you doing here? Ittai!"

He had no time to answer that as Ryuzaki-sensei grabbed her granddaughter from him and pulled towards her causing the girl to squeak. "Sakuno! Sakuno! Are you all right? Did you loose any fingers? Let me see your hand!"

"Obaachan! You're hurting me!" Sakuno gasped against her grandmother's tight grip. She felt her eyes start to fill with tears, but whether it was from her grandmother's vise-like grip or the pain of cutting her finger, she wasn't sure.

"Don't you dare scare me like that, Sakuno," Sumire Ryuzaki scolded gently as she let go of her granddaughter. "Now let me see your hands."

With his golden brown eyes showing nothing, Ryoma watched as Sumire Ryuzaki's hands tremble as she lifted her granddaughter's hands to look at them carefully. One hand perfectly fine yet had splattering of blood while the other had a finger that was dripping of blood. "Oh Sakuno- you might have to get stitches for this one."

"What's going on here?" Kawamura-san demanded as he raced into the kitchen and around the kitchen island. His jaw dropped as he saw his wife desperately trying to revive their son as he lay in her arms, his son's teacher holding her granddaughter's bloodied hands and Echizen on the floor with onion cuttings all around them. "Wife! What's wrong with Takashi?"

At that moment, Kawamura groaned and opened his eyes as he rubbed his head. "Oi blood."

"If you faint again, we might have to take you to the hospital, sempai," said Echizen before he looked up at Kawamura-sempai's father and slowly stood up. "He fainted at the sight of Ryuzaki cutting her finger. Sempai? Are you all right now?"

"I've been better," Kawamura moaned as he pulled away from his mother's arms. He lifted his head suddenly at looked at the small girl. "Sakuno-chan! Your finger! Are you all right?"

"She may need stitches," Ryoma announced as he frowned at his sempai as he practically ignored him and fretted over Ryuzaki's bloody fingers. Since when did he start calling Ryuzaki 'Sakuno-chan'? "So we had better get off the floor."

"It's not that bad," Sakuno announced as she looked from Ryoma-kun to her grandmother. She felt her face become very hot as she looked away from Ryoma-kun. This simply wasn't happening. Maybe if she didn't acknowledge him, it would just prove that Ryoma-kun wasn't in the kitchen where he witnessed her newest bout of clumsiness. She gave her grandmother a small smile. "Really. I don't want stitches-"

"We'll see," Ryuzaki-sensei said to her granddaughter. "Let's clean it up a bit first. Ryoma, here are my keys to my car- I'm parked out by the corner on the right, and take out the first aid kit. Well? You heard me- go on!"

"Hai," Ryoma muttered as he left the kitchen quickly.

As Ryoma disappeared, Kawamura's mother scolded her son. "Yare, yare! If I had known it was because of the sight of blood, I never would have screamed for your father."

"Gomen," Kawamura said as his mother flicked her finger on her son's forehead.

At his hiss of pain, his mother looked over at the young girl who was over by the sink with her grandmother. "Sakuno-chan, sensei, I have a first aid kit here. Taka-chan, go get me the antibacterial cream and alcohol swabs under the counter. Husband-"

"I'll go get it," Kawamura-san said as he sped towards the back of the kitchen and into the storage room. He came back immediately with the kit and started to place the necessary items on the kitchen island. "Now Sakuno-chan, we know all about cuts here! Taka used to cut himself badly when he first started learning the trade."

"Really?" Sakuno sniffed as her grandmother held her hand firmly under the running water. She winced as she tried to move away then subsided at her grandmother's stern look.

"There, I think it's clean," Ryuzaki announced as she looked at the finger and sighed with relief. It wasn't as bad as it looked. She looked at her granddaughter. "We're going to clean it with alcohol now."

"Now?" Sakuno yelped as she snatched her hand back and cradled it safely. She gave her grandmother a winning and hopeful smile. "Can't we do it later?"

"You sound just like how Taka did when he cut his fingers with the knife," Kawamura-san chuckled as he looked at the little girl. "Oh, the pleadings and the doleful looks! And so dramatic when he couldn't escape! And that wasn't good- he had several deep gashes if I remember."

"Really?" Sakuno blinked as she looked at her sempai with wide eyes. It was hard to imagine him as trying to wheedle his way out of anything.

"Really. I had a few bad cuts on my hands and I have the scars to prove it too," Kawamura chuckled as he laid his hands on her shoulders, keeping her still. He smiled down at the smaller girl as she looked at him with big eyes. "There was one cut-"

"Here's the first aid kit that you asked for, sensei," Ryoma said loudly as he entered the kitchen and laid the kit on the kitchen island abruptly. He remained silent as he narrowed slightly at Kawamura and the fact that his hands were still on Ryuzaki's shoulders. He stood next to her as he looked at her face. "Is your finger still hurting so badly, Ryuzaki?"

"Huh? Ryoma-kun? You're really here?" Sakuno blinked as she looked at him. Her face grew red at the sight of him staring at her. She bit her lip, he looked really angry when he came in and now he looked even angrier. Why was he really angry at her? She tried to give him a meek smile. "Ano Ryoma-kun, what-"

"Echizen! What are you doing here?" blinked Kawamura as he looked at the boy with a blank look on his face. He could feel the waves of displeasure coming from the young freshman but he didn't know why.

"Oyaji and I were passing by and he wanted a family style sushi with five bowls of miso, so we came here," Ryoma said shortly as he glanced up at his sempai's face. "Then-"

"Ai-yah! I totally forgot about it during the excitement!" Kawamura-san shouted as he shook his head in dismay. "Gomen, Echizen-kun! Gomen! Taka! Come and help me! We can't keep this boy waiting! Taka!"

"Coming!" Kawamura called out as he raced after his father. He popped his head back in the kitchen. "Echizen! I'll talk as soon as we get the order underway! Sakuno-chan- be strong! It'll be all right! Trust your sempai in this!"

"Ha-hai, sempai," Sakuno stammered with a deep blush.

"Okay," Ryoma shrugged as he looked at Ryuzaki and the way she cradled her hand against herself. "Does it hurt much?"

"It would hurt less if Sakuno would only give me her hand," Ryuzaki said as she gave her granddaughter a stern look. "I still need to look at it more closely to see if she needs stitches. And it still needs to be disinfected and bandaged. Now, out with your hand."

"Obaachan, do we really have to do this? Can't you just put a bandage?" Sakuno asked meekly as she tentatively held out her hand. "And just skip the alcohol treatment?"

"I don't think that we should skip the treatment, Sakuno," Ryuzaki said as she looked at her granddaughter and kept a firm hold on her granddaughter's wrist. "You know as well as I do that this needs to be done."

Sakuno paled as she inched her hand away from her Obaachan's unrelenting grip. "Yes, but can't it be done later?"

"You really do sound like my Taka, Sakuno-chan," Kawamura's mother chuckled. She winked at the girl's grandmother. "Maybe you two should date since you're both alike."

"That would be an idea," Ryuzaki chuckled as well as she looked at her granddaughter. Maybe if Sakuno were distracted, she could pour the alcohol over the girl's finger before she got herself up into a state. "We could arrange it."

"Wha- what?" Sakuno goggled at the sempai's mother and then at her grandmother as her face flushed a deep red and she started to melt down. "Ano Obaachan- what?"

Ryoma frowned slightly as he glanced at the two older women as they started to make plans between themselves while Ryuzaki simply blushed and goggled and sputtered. For some reason, the subject of Ryuzaki and Kawamura-sempai being match-made was a very irritating thought. "Oi, Ryuzaki. Your cut- it's not looking all that bad. The alcohol shouldn't hurt so much."

Blinking at Ryoma's change of subject, Sakuno stared at the unsympathetic boy. "Ryoma-kun, where are you from that pouring alcohol on an open wound is not painful? Of course, it's painful. It's- IIII-TTTT-AI!"

"Done," Ryuzaki-sensei said as she let go of Sakuno's hand and capped the bottle of alcohol as the girl whipped it back to safety and slumped against Ryoma's chest. She smirked as she looked at Ryoma's and Kawamura-san's shell shocked faces. "My granddaughter has a set of lungs, doesn't she?"

"What was that? What happened now?" Kawamura-sempai demanded as he ran into the kitchen. "Everyone?" His eyes widened as he saw a pale Ryuzaki lean against a slightly blushing Echizen. "Sakuno-chan? What happened? Are you all right?"

"Nothing's wrong Taka-chan. It seems that Sakuno-chan has a very loud voice when she wants it to be," Kawamura's mother laughed as she looked at her son. She shook her head, her ears were still ringing. "Now go back to work everything's okay here."

"You're mother's right, Takashi. She was screaming because I surprised her with a douse of alcohol," Ryuzaki-sensei said with a wry smile. She glanced at Sakuno, amused that her granddaughter was too stunned to care that she was in the arms of her crush. But that couldn't be said about Ryoma- the boy knew who had in his arms around and was unsure about what to do. "Sakuno is absolutely fine considering the circumstances."

"Oh, I see," Kawamura said as he scratched his head. He looked closely at Ryuzaki and Echizen and hid a smile. It seemed that Ryuzaki was unaware that she was being held up by Echizen but his little teammate was definitely aware that he had the girl in his arms. "Echizen-"

"I heard a scream! Taka, what's going on here? Was it Sakuno-chan? Are you all right?" Kawamura-san demanded as he looked at her then at everyone in the kitchen. "What happened? Wife?" His eyes widened as he saw the little Ryuzaki lean against Echizen. "Why are you leaning against, Echizen-kun, Sakuno-chan? Are you hurt?"

Blankly, Sakuno looked at Kawamura-san then behind her. Her eyes widened as they met with the golden eyes of Ryoma-kun. Alarmed, Sakuno immediately pulled herself away from Ryoma with a deep red face. "Oh! Ryoma-kun! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Are you all right?"

"I think I'm deaf," Ryoma said blankly as he shook his head as if to clear it out. He looked at Ryuzaki owlishly.

"Ano I'm so sorry Ryoma-kun- Ittai!" Sakuno gasped as she covered her mouth with her hands. Tears started to form around her eyes.

"Stop that! You'll start bleeding again," Ryoma said gruffly as he pulled her hands away from her mouth. He grimaced as he saw blood start to gather but not start a steady flow. He looked at her and saw blood staining her mouth. "Lucky. It's not bleeding again but you had better put a bandage on it fast before you do anymore damage. And you had better clean off the blood near your mouth- it looks real bad."

Ryuzaki-sensei shook her head as she looked at her youngest Regular. She didn't know who was worse in talking to girls, him or his father when he was at that age. "Yare, yare. You could have said that better, Ryoma."

Ryoma looked at his coach, puzzled at her pitying look. "Huh?"

"I'm sorry- I'm so sorry, Ryoma-kun," Sakuno sniffed as she looked down at her hands. Now it was official, she wanted to die. She wanted an earthquake to hit Tokyo and make her sink. She not only managed to slice her finger open- she also managed to make Kawamura-sempai faint, scream in Ryoma-kun's ears and then slump against him. And now, she made him become disgusted with her because she smeared her own blood against her face- probably making her look like a horrendous vampire from some really bad movie. "I didn't mean to disgust you."

Ryoma looked at Ryuzaki, puzzled at her distressed look. "Huh?"

"Echizen! You shouldn't tell a girl that!" Kawamura scolded as he put his hands on Sakuno's shoulders. "It's bad of you to tell a girl she looks disgusting!"

Ryoma looked at his normally timid sempai, confused at his scolding look. "I didn't say that- I said that she should clean the blood off near her mouth- it looks bad. If someone saw her, they would think that someone hit her."

"But you could have said it better," Kawamura's mother said with a shake of her head. She lifted a wet towel and started to clean off Sakuno's face. "Such youthful mistakes! Don't you pay attention to him yet, Sakuno-chan. He's still young- my Taka's older, so it's better for you!"

Sakuno's eyes grew big. "Huh?"

"Huh?" Ryoma goggled at her. Annoyance filled him when he heard Kawamura-sempai's mother say that. Mother or not, she was really starting to make him angry. "Excuse me-?"

"What I don't understand is what happened? What caused the scream?" Kawamura-san demanded as he looked at his wife. "What happened? Sakuno-chan?"

Grateful for the distraction, Sakuno's lips trembled as she gave an angry glare at her grandmother. "Obaachan cleaned my finger with alcohol when I wasn't ready. Ittai!"

"We would have argued about it for another thirty minutes and that way was faster," Ryuzaki shrugged as she lifted the antibacterial cream and a bandage. "Ready for this? It won't hurt."

Frowning at her grandmother through her teary eyes, Sakuno looked at the tube suspiciously then at her grandmother again. Her grandmother sighed. "Such a distrustful look aimed at your grandmother! Would you rather Takashi do it for you? He's got gentler hands. Taka-"

"I'll do it," Ryoma offered as he took the cream and the bandage from the coach before she could finish the sentence. Efficiently he opened the bandage to get it ready then looked at the younger Ryuzaki expectantly as he held out the tube. "Give me your finger."

At his calm and no-nonsense manner, Sakuno blanched as she looked at him. It was worse than when she was hurt with Obaasan! At least Obaasan distracted her when she put on the medicines. She took a wary step back from him as she cradled her hand against her chest. "Ano are you sure that you know how to put on a bandage, Ryoma-kun?"

"I know how to put a bandage on, Ryuzaki," Ryoma said calmly as he looked at her. As she looked at him with still wary eyes, he asked, "What's a matter? Don't you trust me?"

"That has nothing to do with it- I don't want you to hurt me," Sakuno said bluntly as she scowled at the bandage, missing the slight widening of his eyes. She looked at him suspiciously. "How do you put on a bandage? And medicine?"

"I won't hurt you. I put bandages and medicine on like anyone else does. You open it and put it on," Ryoma said slowly as he looked at her. She still looked at him suspiciously. Oddly hurt by the look of suspicion, he tried to give her a better answer. "You put the medicine on like anyone else. You dab it on the wound and then put the bandage on."

"That's- that's not really a good answer, Ryoma-kun," Sakuno said as she bit her lip. "In fact that sounds very painful."

"Dabbing medicine is painful?" Ryoma stared at her. "That sounds painful? It's how people put on medicine and a bandage. How is that painful?"

"I don't know, but it sounds painful," Sakuno sniffed as she glared at him with big eyes.

"How can that sound painful?" Ryoma demanded as he gave her a look of exasperation.

"It just does," Sakuno said stubbornly.

"Yare, yare. This is getting us no where," Ryuzaki-sensei sighed as she looked at the stubborn face of her granddaughter and the frustrated one of Ryoma.

"Oh, yes- now she definitely sounds like Taka," Kawamura's father chuckled as he shook his head. "This sure brings back memories."

Kawamura took the bandage and medicine from Echizen. "Here, let me do it for her, Echizen." He dabbed a bit of the antibacterial cream on the bandage, took paper on the adhesives and then lifted it up for Sakuno-chan to see it clearly. "See? It's all ready for you. And I won't put it on so tight. I promise."

Still suspicious, Sakuno looked at her sempai warily. "Will it hurt?"

"It will a little," Kawamura admitted with a wince. "But it won't hurt as bad as the alcohol. And it doesn't smell like the other medicines. Sempai's promise."

Sakuno bit her lip as she looked at the bandage that was ready for her finger. She narrowed her eyes. "Not too tight? Promise?"

"Sakuno, he already said that he wasn't going to make it tight," Ryuzaki-sensei exclaimed with exasperation. "You're not questioning your sempai, are you?"

Sakuno looked at her grandmother indignantly. "I just want to make sure."

"Not too tight," Kawamura promised.

"Are you sure?" Sakuno asked as she looked at him.

"He just promised again, didn't he?" Ryoma snapped as he looked at Ryuzaki. He immediately regretted his words when he saw the hurt look on her face. "Ryuzaki-"

"Oi! Is there anyone here? Seishounen! Where are you? What's taking you so long? Oi!" called out a loud and annoying voice. "Yoo hoo!"

"Oyaji," Ryoma gritted out as soon as he heard his father's voice.

"Whoops! Gotta go," Kawamura-san said as he started towards the doorway. He paused to look back at his son. "Be gentle, Taka. Sakuno-chan, don't you worry, my son might not be able to cut fish well, but he does have the gentle hands of a doctor."

"Oi! Anyone here? I'm here for my sushi and my snarky dwarf!"

"What a loud voice! He hasn't gotten quieter now that he's an old man," Ryuzaki-sensei sighed as she shook her head. "Come on, Ryoma. He probably wants to come and get you as well."

"Hai," Ryoma sighed as he followed his teacher out the kitchen. He turned back to say good-bye but frowned as he saw Kawamura-sempai bend his head over Ryuzaki's hand. He felt his feet start back towards the kitchen.

"Oi! Seishounen! Are you coming? Your kaasan is waiting for us to bring this home!" shouted out Nanjiroh. Ryoma turned on his heel and glared at his father.

"I'm coming," Ryoma said curtly. Taking a deep breath, he called out loudly, "I'm leaving now, sempai, Kawamura-san, Ryuzaki. See you tomorrow."

"Bye, Echizen-kun," called out Kawamura-san in a sing-song voice. "See Sakuno-chan? That didn't hurt, did it? Isn't my Taka-chan a gentle giant?"

Ryoma gritted his teeth as he forced himself to walk away from the kitchen.

* * *

Smacking his lips, Nanjiroh let out a sigh of satisfaction. "Now this is some delicious sushi, right, Seishounen?"

"It's all right," Ryoma answered curtly. "Can I be excused now? I want to go to my room."

"That was all you're eating?" Nanjiroh exclaimed as he looked at his son's plate. "You only had twenty pieces!"

Rinko Echizen looked at her son with a bit of alarm and pulled him over to her. "But you've hardly eaten, Ryoma! Are you feeling sick?"

"I feel fine, Kaasan," Ryoma said grumpily as he pulled his head away from her hand.

"But you usually eat more than this, Ryoma-kun!" his cousin Nanako exclaimed as she looked at his plate. "You usually eat enough to fill an army."

Ryoma shrugged. "I just wasn't in the mood for sushi, that's all."

"This doesn't make sense. Since when are you not in the mood for sushi?" Rinko asked as her eyebrows went up in surprise. "Maybe I should call a doctor-"

"I'm fine, Kaasan," Ryoma said patiently. "I just want to go to my room-"

Nanjiroh blinked as he looked at his son. "It's only eight o'clock! Why would you want to go to your room now?" His eyes narrowed and then he smirked. "Oh, I get it! You want to play a game against your old man, dwarf?"

Scowling at his father, Ryoma snorted. 'I don't want to play a game with you, baka Oyaji."

Sitting up immediately, Nanjiroh gave a mock scowl at his son. "Why not? Think it's because I'll laugh my ass off at you when you lose?"

"No, maybe because have school tomorrow?" Ryoma sassed back with a scowl. He looked at his mother's worried face and relented enough of his bad mood to lie. "I have hard test tomorrow and I want to get some studying then sleep early. So can I be excused?"

Semi-satisfied with that answer, Rinko nodded. "Of course- I'll bring up some snacks if you're still awake."

Sighing deeply, Nanjiroh reached for his son's portion of the sushi. "Oh well. If you're not eating, your father then should finish this for you so it won't go to waste!"

"Thank you, Kaasan," Ryoma said as he ignored his father stuff his face and excused himself. The two adults watched as Ryoma climbed up the stairs and went into his room.

Nanako looked at Rinko. "He was lying. Do you think that he's sick?"

"He could be- but he usually doesn't act this way when he's sick," Rinko mused as she looked at the door to her son's room speculatively. There was something about his grumpiness- it seemed so familiar but she couldn't place it. "Nanjiroh, what do you think?"

"He's fine," Nanjiroh said through a mouthful of sushi. "There's nothing wrong with the dwarf. He's probably just tired. That boy has no stamina."

"Are you sure, uncle?" Nanako asked worriedly. She was about to say more when the phone rang. "I'll get that."

As Nanako left the room, Rinko looked at her husband. "I think it's more than a lack of stamina. There's something about the way-"

"Aunt! There's an Ito Suichi on the phone for you!" Nanako called out.

"Ito Suichi!" exclaimed Rinko as she stood up. Nanjiroh lowered his chopsticks and narrowed his eyes at her. "I wonder what he's doing calling me?"

"Who knows? Doubt that it's important," Nanjiroh snorted as he crossed his arms.

"Probably," Rinko agreed absently as she left the room to take the phone.

* * *

Nanako looked up from her plate as her aunt came in. Rinko blinked as she looked at her niece, the only person in the room. "Eh? Where's your uncle? I thought he was going to help finish up all the sushi?"

Nanako shrugged and frowned in puzzlement. "Uncle said that he wasn't hungry anymore. He said that he wanted to go take a walk and then go to bed because he was tired. So who's this Ito Suichi, Aunt?"

Though puzzled at her husband's disappearance, Rinko shrugged as she sat down. "He's an old friend of mine I met when I was in America. We dated a couple of times-oh!"

"He was an old boyfriend?" Nanako asked politely as she looked at her aunt. She was looking speculatively at the closed bedroom doors. "Are you all right?"

Rinko smiled as she looked at her niece. It finally hit her why Ryoma's sullen attitude was so familiar. The boy was becoming just like his father. A pang of love went through her heart, her little boy was growing up. "I'm fine, Nanako- and I'm sure that Ryoma will be too. After all, he's almost like his father. Just more mature. I hope."

"Ryoma's just like his father?" Nanako repeated as she looked at her aunt's amused face. At her aunt's knowing look, it hit Nanako a second later. She let out a chuckle. "I wonder who she is? Think we'll meet her?"

Shrugging, Rinko picked up her chopsticks. "I hope so. But the way he's acting- I hope that he doesn't sulk for very long."

"It should be interesting to see Ryoma in love," Nanako giggled. "I can't wait to see it."

"I just hope that he doesn't court her like his father did to me," Rinko chuckled. "Now that was an experience."

* * *

Ryoma lay down on his bed staring at the ceiling with Karupin at his side. Frowning in the dark, he thought about the image of Ryuzaki in the arms of Kawamura-sempai. For some reason, he couldn't get the image out of his mind. She could have pushed him away- sempai shouldn't have held her so close like that. It just wasn't right.

'_But it was if they were being match-made'_ whispered a little voice in his head. _'If she's going to be his wife, then he has every right to hold her like that.'_

'Bull' thought Ryoma as he scowled. 'She's only twelve. Why should she think about marriage so early?'

'_But who said it was her that was thinking about an early engagement?'_ whispered the voice again. _'And besides, isn't she the most docile and obtuse creature you've ever seen? You're always spending your time- time that you should be devoting to your tennis and beating Oyaji- worrying about her. You have no time to waste on her. Let some other guy rescue her from falling flat on her face or getting hurt. Like Kawamura-sempai.'_

Ryoma scowled at the thought. 'Stopping her from hurting herself is my duty. Oishi-sempai said that since we're in the same grade, I should look out for her.'

_But Horio, Kachiro and Katsuo are in the same grade, too. So it's not just your job. Why can't they look after her?_

"Because their reflexes suck," Ryoma snorted aloud. "I have no choice as a Seigaku regular. I have to make sure the coach's granddaughter doesn't hurt herself."

_But didn't she already hurt you?_

And with that Ryoma reached over to his radio and turned it on, not allowing the voices in his head a chance to speak.

* * *

**LAST WARNING- ADULT SITUATION: RATED PG**

* * *

Nanjiroh scowled as he hit the tennis ball with the palm of his hand against the wall. Playing handball wasn't his thing, but it did work well when he was pissed. As he was about to hit it again, he had a flash of the laughing idiot and a much younger Rinko on his arm.

Growling, he smacked the ball hard, imagining that it was Ito Suichi's face. "His phone calls are not welcome here. Why was he calling?"

"Because he wanted to say hello," Rinko answered as she stepped out of the shadows. "And to catch up on old times- He's going to be visiting Japan in about a month, something about doing a consultation for his work. And he would like for us to guide him around Tokyo."

"Did he say 'us' or did he just mean you?" Nanjiroh asked as he smacked the ball harder.

"He might have just mentioned me guiding him around, but he wanted to play tennis against you," Rinko said calmly as she crossed her arms.

Catching the ball, Nanjiroh turned to look at his wife speculatively then smiled. "Oh, he wants to play against me?"

"Yes, he does," Rinko said as she walked up to her husband. She didn't trust the smile on his face. "Promise me that you'll be nice to him." At his silence, she sighed. "At least don't hurt him too much. His company needs him back alive."

"I won't hurt him," Nanjiroh said as he crossed his fingers behind his back.

Sighing, Rinko pulled out his arms, revealing his crossed fingers. She interlaced her fingers between his, preventing him from crossing his fingers again. "Now promise me."

Crossing his toes, Nanjiroh said, "I promise that I will not hurt him too much."

"Good," Rinko said as she started to step away then squeaked when Nanjiroh held her hands behind her back. She looked at her husband and saw the gleam in his eye. "Nanjiroh! We can't!"

Lowering his head to kiss the base of her throat as he lifted her hips, Nanjiroh growled against her skin, "Why not?"

"Because we're at the temple," Rinko moaned as she threw her head back and wrapped her legs around his waist. "We can't do this here! Let's go back home!"

"Yadda! I'm worshiping the temple of my wife," Nanjiroh said as he walked over to the tennis bench and laid her down on it. He felt his breath catch as he looked at the face of his wife then he lowered his head to kiss her.

"Nan- Nanjiroh! It's a place of worship," Rinko gasped when he broke the kiss to move his mouth lower.

"But I am worshiping, Rinko! I'm worshiping nature!" Nanjiroh reasoned as he smiled roguishly. "Isn't that the basis of Shintoism?"

"How is having sex here the basis of Shintoism," Rinko demanded as she glared at her husband.

"In a nutshell, Shintoism makes offerings and worships the kami, the forces of nature, neh?" Nanjiroh said as he kissed his wife's collarbone. His hands moved to cup his wife's breasts. "So I am worshiping the nature of my wife at the temple of my wife. So it all fits!"

"There's something wrong with that logic, I know there is," Rinko gasped as she tried to clear her mind of the fog of lust her husband was weaving around her.

"Figure it out later, Rinko," Nanjiroh said as he kissed her deeply and his hands went lower. "I'm busy worshiping."

-End-

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PS This was actually longer, but I broke it up. I'm still working on the second part, please be patient. And thank you all for the reviews. 


	5. Bento Revelations

**Author's Notes (1): This is the Monday right after the previous one-shot "A Little Cut to the Heart". It mainly involves mainly Sakuno, Kawamura and Ryoma, but you do get to see the rest of the team. (It still happens before or while Episode 49 (English trans: Different Kind of Fight) and definitely before they meet up with Hyotei.)**

**Author's Notes (2): Okay, my Japanese sucks. I'm having Sakuno call her father 'Daddy' in English since it's easier for me.**

**Author's Notes (3): It's fixed. Sorry about the oneesan/oniisan fiasco again. This was originally part of the previous one-shot, "A Little Cut to the Heart", so the change over never occurred. And I also hand-fixed some errors the loading made. (For some reason, when I load it on random words or letters are cut out.)**

**Teaser: Here's my take on this situation: In the anime, has anyone wondered why it's always just Tomoko making the bentos for Ryoma?**

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Title: Bento Revelations

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Ryoma scowled as he walked into the clubroom for Monday afternoon activities. He was glad that it was near the end of the day. Though nothing had happened during the day, almost everything about him felt really off. And to top everything off, his mind kept wandering back to his strange and disjointed dream that involved Karupin, sushi, the team and for some reason Miss Clumsy-Wobbly Hips a.k.a. Sakuno Ryuzaki.

Hence, Ryoma felt that he was walking in a fog and just simply felt like snarling at everyone who spoke to him instead of ignoring them. Not even the favorite grape Ponta he was sipping on was doing anything to cheer him up. Maybe he was coming down with a cold or something. It would royally suck if he were. "Mada mada dane."

"Wow! Look at your food, Kawamura-sempai! It looks really tasty!"

Ryoma rolled his eyes as he heard Momo-sempai's voice. He was always thinking about food. The young tennis prince closed the door and saw his sempai gathered around Kawamura-sempai and his amazing bento. They all looked envious. "Uisi."

"Oi, Echizen," called out Momo-sempai as he lifted his eyes long enough to look at his kohai. "Take a look at this!"

Sighing deeply, Ryoma walked over slowly, "What's going on?"

"We're just admiring Taka-san's bento," Fuji said as he smiled at Echizen. He looked down again and smiled. "And that looks so cute, Taka-san! Is that radish supposed to be you?"

"Hai, it's supposed to be me," Kawamura said proudly as he held it up. "Great likeness, neh?"

Fuji's eyes narrowed as he looked at it more closely. "You know, there was something familiar about the way it's carved… If I didn't know better, I'd say that it wasn't you that did it, Taka-san. But that would be silly to say wouldn't it, neh? Anyway, I didn't know that you were so talented, Taka-san!"

"I'm not," Kawamura blushed and gave out a small laugh as he scratched his head. "And you're right, I didn't make it. It was Sakuno-chan that carved out my face on the radish when she came over yesterday. Isn't she talented?"

There was sudden silence at that.

"Nani? Nani?" Kikumaru yelped as his eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "Nyah! What did you just say? Did you just say 'Sakuno-chan', nyah?"

The fogged mindset Ryoma was in dissipated immediately. Ryoma froze as he gave a hard stare at Kawamura-sempai and in a flash behind his eyes, he saw Ryuzaki in Kawamura-sempai's arms. _'**Who** carved out Kawamura-san's face on a radish?'_

"Who carved out Kawamura-sempai's face on a radish?" Momo-sempai managed to demand as soon as he got his jaw from the floor.

His eyes working furiously behind his glasses, Inui took in every reaction of his teammates before he delicately cleared his voice. "Did you say 'Sakuno-chan', Kawamura? Who exactly is this Sakuno-chan?"

"Do we know her, nyah?" Kikumaru asked eagerly.

"You all know her, she's Ryuzaki-sensei's granddaughter," Kawamura said with a laugh. He smiled at his friends to say something else but stopped when he noticed them stare at him. "Eh? What's wrong?"

Kaidoh was the first to break the silence. "Fssh… Sempai was with sensei's granddaughter?"

"Nyah! Kawamura is so brave!" Kikumaru exclaimed as he stared at his classmate with wide eyes. "It was nice knowing you, Taka-san! We're really going to miss your 'burning' mode! Right, Oishi?"

"Huh?" Kawamura yelped as he stared at Kikumaru dumbfounded.

"Eiji! It's impolite to say things like that!" Oishi scolded. "Sorry about that, Taka-san. I'm sure sensei is all right with you dating her granddaughter-after all, you did get her approval, right?"

Kawamura stared at Oishi as if he had two heads. "Huh?"

Momo's eyes started to bulge as he processed what his two sempai were saying and then yelped, "Taka-san had a date with Ryuzaki-sensei's granddaughter?"

"Kawamura-sempai is dating Ryuzaki!" Horio yelped as he came into the clubroom with Katsuo and Kachiro. He raced up to Kawamura, eager to hear new gossip. "Is this true, Kawamura-sempai? Does this mean that she broke up with that other guy? Hey! Echizen!"

"Sorry, it slipped," Ryoma muttered as he looked at Horio and started to help him pick up the fallen towels. He ignored the exchanged looks between Katsuo and Kachiro and the speculative one from Inui-sempai.

Pointing to the batch of towels on a lower rack, Momo scowled, "You know, you could have just used the ones here."

"The ones up there are better," Ryoma said curtly as he glared at Momo-sempai.

"Mah, mah, I didn't know you two were seeing each other," Fuji smiled as he looked at his friend. "Congratulations, Taka-san!"

"Especially if she makes good looking bentos like those for you," Oishi said cheerfully.

Distracted at the thought of food, Momo looked at Kawamura again. "Wow! She's the one that made the bento for you, Taka-san?"

"Huh? Huh?" Kawamura said as he looked at Momo, Oishi and Fuji blankly. "What are you all talking about? Me dating and Sakuno-chan?"

"Wasn't that why Ryuzaki was there yesterday, sempai?" Ryoma asked Kawamura with wide eyes. For some reason, he was once again feeling a little irritated at the thought of Ryuzaki dating Kawamura-sempai. And the way his mother was whole-heartedly encouraging a match-making date between them. "Are your parents and sensei going to make it official already?"

"Make what official, Echizen?" Momo demanded as he looked at the young tennis prince.

"Nyah! What? What? What do you know what we don't, Ochibi?" Kikumaru demanded excitedly as he looked at the young player.

Looking back at Kawamura and his confused face, Ryoma shook his head. "It's nothing. Just something that sensei and Kawamura-sempai's mother said something in the kitchen."

"What did my mother and sensei say in the kitchen?" Kawamura demanded confused.

Adjusting his hat, Ryoma avoided his sempai's gaze. "Something about match-making you and Ryuzaki since the two of you are so alike."

Everyone stared at Echizen as he looked at Kawamura-sempai. Then chaos broke out.

Horio stared at Echizen. "RYUZAKI IS GOING TO MARRY KAWAMURA-SEMPAI?"

"Say what?" Kawamura yelped as he stared at Echizen. "What?"

"Ryuzaki-san can't be marrying Kawamura-sempai!" Kachiro practically yelled. "She's only our age! Twelve!"

"Are you sure that you got it right, Ryoma-kun?" Katsuo demanded as he stared at Echizen.

"You're not saying this just because are you?" Horio demanded as he looked at Echizen. "Kawamura-sempai's not exactly the best one to marry right-"

"Fssh! Are you saying that Kawamura-sempai is not a good man to marry," Kaidoh demanded as he glared at Horio.

Immediately Horio started to stutter and try to appease the angry-sounding sempai. "No! No, sempai! It's just that-that Kawamura-sempai is- he's-"

"He's only fourteen," Kachiro yelped nervously as he looked at Kadioh. "And she's twelve!"

"Ii data," Inui said as he started to scribble madly into his notebook. "Ii data!"

"Nyah! This is wonderful news!" Eiji exclaimed as he slapped Kawamura excitedly on the back. "You're going to have a fiancée, Taka-san!"

"Eiji! It's not totally wonderful news!" Oishi yelped at the top of his lungs. His eyes went huge at the implications of what could happen. "Taka's not even fifteen yet! She's only twelve! Aren't Ryuzaki and him too young to be thinking about this?

"Just remember to invite us to the wedding, Taka-san," Fuji smiled calmly.

"Huh?" Kawamura repeated as he looked at everyone confusedly. "What are you talking about? There's no wedding! We haven't been match-made!"

"Are you sure, sempai?" Momo asked as he looked at Kawamura doubtfully. "I mean, she was over at your place."

Kawamura stared at him. "But- but – it was only because sensei's car had a flat and Sakuno-chan didn't have her keys with her, so sensei sent her over to the restaurant to stay."

"And she carved your face on the radish," Oishi said carefully.

Kikumaru leaned over his partner's shoulder to look at Kawamura. "Nyah! She must really like you to do that, nyah!"

"What does my face on a radish have anything to do with this?" Kawamura yelped. "She carved it because my parents and I were complimenting her on her skill with the paring knife. All our customers were complimenting on the garnishes and Oyaji and I had no idea what they were talking about until we saw her in the kitchen with Kaasan! My face on a radish has nothing to do with this!"

Fuji stared at his friend. "Oh my, Taka-san, is it possible that you don't know?"

"Don't know what? Know what?" Kawamura demanded as he looked at his friend. "What am I supposed to know?"

"That girls in love usually do things like that," Inui replied as he looked at his notebook. "They draw pictures of the guys they like, write his name all over their notebooks, put his name in hearts and sorts of other things. Most obvious thing that they do is make bentos or other sort food for their crushes."

"Like how Osakada makes tasty bentos for Echizen all the time," Horio said helpfully as he looked at Echizen.

"What? What? Osakada makes tasty bentos for Ochibi?" Kikumaru demanded eagerly. "Really? I thought it would be Ryuzaki that would make tasty bentos for him!"

"She did once when we were all together but she hasn't made any since," Horio said as he looked at Kikumaru-sempai. "Not that anyone can blame her, after all, Echizen was simply being his usual self."

Katsuo and Kachiro both nodded in agreement. "Um-hm." "That's right."

"What do you mean by that?" Ryoma demanded with a frown. "How can I offend her just by being myself?"

"I didn't say that you offended her," Horio corrected. "You just were simply your usual self and that's why she probably won't make another bento for you."

"Huh?" Ryoma asked as he looked at Horio then at Kachiro and Katsuo as they nodded in agreement. "And when did this all happen?"

When Echizen looked at Horio blankly, Kachiro supplied helpfully. "It was when we all went to Kachiro's dad's tennis club and you played against Sasabe's father."

Echizen blinked as he vaguely remembered the time. "Was that when the bento I was eating suddenly disappeared?"

"It suddenly disappeared because Ryuzaki took it away from you," Horio snorted as he crossed his arms and shook his head.

"Echizen! What did you do to her?" Momo demanded in a threatening voice. He ground his knuckles on Echizen's temples. "Did you make her cry again? I swear the god of dates and I will never forgive you if you did!"

"Ittai! Ittai!" Ryoma shouted as he tried to get away.

"This sounds like more interesting data," Inui said as he adjusted his glasses and whipped out his data book. "Please tell us what happened."

"Oh, yes! I'd like to hear more of this," Fuji said encouragingly. His eyes opened to look at Ryoma. "I'd especially like to know what you did to make her cry."

"Oh dear," Oishi said as he put his hand on his forehead.

"Fssh…," Kaidoh hissed as he glared at Echizen.

"You made her cry! Again!" Momo yelped as he ground his knuckles into Echizen's temples again. "Didn't you learn your lesson the last time?"

Kindhearted Kachiro grabbed Momo's sleeve. "Momo-sempai! He didn't mean to make her cry! Really, sempai! Ryoma-kun was just being Ryoma-kun at the time!"

"That's right, Momo-sempai! It's like Horio said- Ryoma-kun was just being his usual self!" Katsuo agreed as Horio nodded wisely.

Echizen and Momo looked at Katsuo, Horio and Kachiro blankly. "Huh? What does that mean?"

"What? What? How was Ochibi being his usual self, nyah?" Kikumaru demanded as he looked at the three freshmen.

"What makes you think I did anything?" Ryoma demanded as soon as he got away and glared at his classmates. "All I know was that I was eating a bento but then it disappeared."

"I told you, it disappeared because she took it away," Horio huffed as he glared at Echizen. He shook his head superiorly. "Honestly, in my two years experience in tennis, I have never seen anyone into tennis as you and that's why she took it away."

"That doesn't explain anything!" Momo yelled as he glared at Horio. "What happened?"

"He said 'mada mada dane' about her bento for him, didn't he?" Inui asked as he closed his book and looked at the Freshmen Trio. "That's what made her cry and stop making bentos for him. Wasn't it?"

The three boys had sweat drops coming from their heads. Kachiro smiled weakly, "Well, that's sort of right."

"Echizen." Momo's eyebrow started to twitch with irritation. "You insulted a pretty girl's bento for you- something she made with her own hands and out of love?"

Oishi shook his head. "Even if it tasted awful, you still shouldn't have said that and eaten every bite of it!"

"Oishi's right, Ochibi! You should have apologized to her about saying that," Kikumaru scolded as he scowled at his young teammate. It was rare that he was annoyed with Ochibi. "You just don't do that to a pretty girl! Especially one as delicate as Ryuzaki!"

"Fssh," Kaidoh hissed as he scowled at Echizen.

"Hah? But I didn't say 'mada mada dane' to her bento," Ryoma frowned as he looked at his classmates in confusion. "I know I didn't."

"Technically, you didn't," Katsuo allowed as he looked at Echizen. "You said it about the two tennis players who were having a match in the court below."

Kachiro cleared his throat as he looked at Echizen. "While at the same time you were distracted, Ryuzaki asked how the bento tasted-"

"And you said 'mada mada dane' with your eyes still on the players," Horio ended as he looked at the attentive sempai-tachi. "That's how he was himself-"

"And how the bento suddenly disappeared," Kachiro said as he glanced at Echizen then at the sempai-tachi. "Osakada tried to get her to come back, but she wouldn't. It's also the reason why we and-"

"Osakada think that Ryuzaki won't make another bento for Ryoma-kun anymore," Katsuo continued as he gave a pitying glance to Ryoma-kun. He looked at the sempai-tachi. "She probably stopped making them because she thinks that he insulted her bento."

Ryoma stared at his classmates as a tight knot formed in his stomach. "She went away crying?"

"Like a river," Horio nodded as he looked at Echizen. "We told Osakada to tell Ryuzaki that it's probably because you weren't paying attention to her when you said that-"

"But Ryuzaki's probably too embarrassed to make anymore for you because she took it away over a misunderstanding," Kachiro shrugged. "That's why Osakada's been making you bentos."

"Oh, poor Ryuzaki," Oishi commented as he shook his head.

"Nyah! Poor is right!" Kikumaru exclaimed as he shook his head. "In love and unable to express her love for Ochibi! All because he insulted her bento!"

"I didn't insult her bento!" Echizen said in an annoyed voice. "I was-"

"Just being your usual self. You don't ignore a girl or her bento," Kaidoh hissed as he shook his head. Ryoma stared at Kaidoh-sempai, the usually silent and moody sempai. If HE said something was bad, then it really was bad as it sounded.

"Now don't you start saying 'mada mada dane' to Osakada when she's around with food she made with her own hands," Momo warned as he looked at Echizen. "If you do, you'll never get a bento again. Let me tell you this as a sempai: You have to say nice things to a girl to make her happy to feed you. Since you've already lost Ryuzaki's bentos, you can't afford to lose Osakada's. So compliment her the next time she makes you a bento."

"Fssh," Kaidoh hissed as he shook his head. "Baka. Like a girl has ever made you a bento."

"What did you say, Mamushi?" Momo glared as he looked at Kaidoh.

"Anyway, it's a pity that Echizen will not receive any bento from Ryuzaki," Inui said as he shook his head. His face remained impassive as Echizen shot him a quick irritated glare. "It would have been interesting data to record."

"Yes, it is a pity. Especially when she's really a very good cook," Fuji commented as he picked up his racket. "Shall we go out and practice now?"

Everyone turned to look at Fuji. The Freshmen Trio looked at each other then at their sempai. Katsuo cleared his throat. "Fuji-sempai? We know that she bakes delicious stuff-"

"But how do you know she's a very good cook?" Horio asked as he looked up.

Kawamura frowned as he looked at his friend. "Ano Fujiko-chan, how do you know she's a very good cook? She can't even use a big knife properly- yesterday she cut her finger in my kitchen when I was trying to teach her."

Fuji smiled angelically as he looked at the men in the club room. "I know because-"

Fuji leaned over, placed a finger on his lips and opened his eyes wide as he smiled brightly at his teammates. "It's a very deep secret. I could tell you, but then I would have to kill you."

Shivers started to run down the spine of everyone in the clubroom. Just then a knock was heard at the door causing everyone in the room to jump. Fuji walked over to the door. "Ah! Ryuzaki! What a pleasant surprise! What can we do for you?" Fuji turned to look at the people behind him. "Taka-san? Ryuzaki would like to see you for a moment."

Scratching his head, Kawamura walked slowly towards the door. When he looked back, he saw the interested faces of his teammates and frowned at them. He had a flashback of the time he had met up with Jin Akutsu's mother. As soon as he got to the door, he shut it tightly. Just in case.

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"Was that Ryuzaki?" Kikumaru demanded energetically as he looked at Fuji.

"Yes, it was," Fuji smiled as he looked at his friend. He smiled brightly as he brought a finger to his lips then pointed to the open window near the door. "Shall we spy on them?"

Kikumaru's eyes sparkled with glee as he nodded and scrambled up the bench near the window with Fuji.

"Eiji! This is too much! You shouldn't be doing this to Taka-san," Oishi scolded as he looked at his doubles partner. "And Fuji- you know better!"

Eiji gave his friend an innocent look. "But don't you want to know why Taka-san shut the door? He and little Ryuzaki- maybe they could be discussing marriage!"

At this, Oishi started to look like one of his wide-eyed, open-mouthed tropical fish… and raced to the window. Almost immediately, with the exception of Ryoma and Kaidoh who were looking quite irritated, the Freshmen Trio and other sempai-tachi were at the window, listening as hard as they could.

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Kawamura scratched his head as he looked at Ryuzaki. "Ano how is your finger?"

Sakuno smiled as she held it up. "It's good now, Taka-san. Obaachan changed the bandage this morning again and said I'm well on the way to recovery."

"Ah, that's good," Kawamura said as he nodded. Then blinked when he had a small paper bag shoved at him. "Ano what's this?"

"I made strawberry shortcake for Taka-san and his parents," Sakuno said as she bowed. "It is to show my appreciation for allowing me to stay in your restaurant until Obaachan arrived and as an apology for causing so much trouble for Taka-san."

"Oh- you weren't any trouble at all, Sakuno-chan," Kawamura immediately denied. "You were a perfect guest."

Sakuno looked at Kawamura owlishly. "If a perfect guest means someone who sliced open her finger causing blood to be gushing all over the place which caused a few disasters to happen, including making sempai faint- then, I would agree that I was a perfect guest."

"Now, now, it wasn't your fault," Kawamura chuckled. "You did tell me that you were not allowed near big knives. It was my fault in trying to teach you how to use one and being distracted when sensei and Echizen came into the kitchen."

"Then you think we should probably blame Obaachan and Ryoma-kun for the fiasco?" Sakuno wondered aloud.

"That would be interesting, wouldn't it?" Kawamura said as he looked at her.

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"Oh dear," Oishi whispered loudly to Kikumaru. "She's blaming Echizen for hurting her finger! This is not good! It can't be good!"

"Poor Ochibi! Maybe she really doesn't like him that way anymore!" Kikumaru lamented as he gave a sorrowful look at the young tennis prince.

"Yeah, sounds like she really has gotten over Echizen," Momo said with a nod. He heard Echizen give a small hiss at him then glared. He went over to grab the first year over to the window. "You must listen first hand how much she doesn't like you anymore!"

"Mada mada dane," Ryoma muttered as he glared at Momo.

"Momo! That's too cruel!" Oishi hissed loudly as he looked worriedly from Echizen to Momo.

"It's a lesson we must all learn while growing up," Momo commented as he looked sternly at Echizen. "We must learn to be sensitive to another's feelings- especially those of a girl's."

"And that should be a lesson to you both," Horio announced to Kachiro and Katsuo.

Annoyed Katsuo poked Horio. "You're the one who usually says something insensitive!"

"And the one who usually gests us in trouble with Ryuzaki and Osakada," Kachiro added as he poked Horio on the other side.

"Yes, but I've never made any girl cry like Echizen did," Horio defended superiorly.

"You probably will someday- according to my Nissan, it is a man's destiny to make at least one girl cry once in their lives. And sometimes they can't ever correct the mistake that they made," Fuji said sagely. His eyes glowed strangely as he looked right at Echizen. "Oh well. One man's stupidity is another's fortune."

"Any comments, Echizen?" Inui asked as his glasses gleamed.

Ignoring his sempai-tachi as he sipped his grape Ponta, Ryoma felt his stomach strangely tightening at the thought of Ryuzaki hating him. He scowled as he pretended indifference. _Ryuzaki said that she liked me. She wanted to have her first kiss from me. She kissed me while I was pretending to be asleep. But that was before we went to Kachiro's dad's place. Two months had passed since that day by the sakura. Does she still like me?_

"Well, Echizen? What do you say?" Inui prodded as his eyeglasses gleamed.

Scowling, Ryoma looked at the Seigaku data man. "Mada mada dane."

"Is that for her or for you?" Inui said as he looked at Ryoma. Ryoma just shoved his hat down lower.

"Quiet everyone! I can't hear her!" Kikumaru scolded as he looked at his friends.

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"It would be interesting," Sakuno agreed then she gave out a small laugh. "I don't think they'd like that when all they did was stand there in entrance. Obaachan would sulk but Ryoma-kun wouldn't really be upset. I think. He'd probably just say, 'Mada mada dane' and then sip his Ponta as he walked away."

Aware that Echizen was still in the clubhouse, Kawamura cleared his throat. "You might be right about that." Then he looked at her curiously. "Why don't think that he would be upset that we blamed him partially for what happened to your finger?"

Sakuno shrugged as she gave him a bright smile. "Because Ryoma-kun is Ryoma-kun; nothing outside the tennis gets him upset terribly, I think. But if something does, he'll just use his Tennis of Righteousness to fix it."

Kawamura stared at her. "His Tennis of Righteousness? What is this Tennis of Righteousness?"

"Oh- I came up with that name myself! It's when Ryoma-kun uses his tennis to right the wrongs- like he did with Sasabe and his father or with Ginka," Sakuno said brightly.

"Or when he avenged Kachiro, Arai and myself against Jin," Kawamura said softly.

"Hai, just like that time as well," Sakuno nodded as she smiled. "And it's not just him, the sempai-tachi all have it to some degree. And so does Yuuta-oniisan."

Kawamura blinked at that. "Like Yuuta-oniisan?" He looked at the smiling girl. There was only one Yuuta he knew of… "Sakuno-chan, do you mean Fuji Yuuta? You think that he has Tennis of Righteousness as well?"

"Of course he does!" Sakuno answered immediately then frowned as she thought about it. "But then, he didn't use his tennis- he used his fists at the time. So maybe he has the Fists of Righteousness. Sounds like a martial arts move." She smiled brightly. "But that doesn't matter because Yuuta-oniisan's a real hero!"

"Fuji Yuuta is a real hero?" Kawamura stared at the smiling girl. "How- what-"

"Oh! Sakuno! What are you doing here? I thought you were on your way to your lesson!"

Both turned to find Ryuzaki and Tezuka coming towards the clubhouse. Sakuno smiled at her grandmother. "Ohayo, Obaachan! Tezuka-bouchu! I'm going to my lesson now- I just wanted to drop off the cake and cookies to Kawamura-sempai! Here you go sempai!"

"Oh, thank you," Kawamura said with a smile as he looked into the bag. "Ano what's this other box for?"

Sakuno blushed as she looked at him. "Those are gingerbread men- except I made them to look like the Seigaku regulars. I'm sorry but I can't make the radishes look like the sempai-tachi like you wanted- my finger still hurts when I touch my knife. So I baked and decorated gingerbread to make them look like the Regulars." Her smile faltered as Kawamura-sempai stared at her in silence. "Sempai, is that all right? I know that you wanted to show off my radishes on your salad and that this is a poor substitute-"

"Oh no! This is fine! Really!" Kawamura stammered as he looked into the box. He picked one out. "This one looks like Tezuka! Wow! You are very talented, Sakuno-chan! Doesn't this look like you, Tezuka?"

Tezuka blinked as he took the gingerbread man from Kawamura's hand. For a cookie decorated with brown, blue, white and red icing, it was an amazing likeness. "Ah- yes it is. You are very talented, Ryuzaki."

"Not really," Sakuno said blushing as she shook her head. She smiled brightly. "But I am improving! Anyway, I must be going now. I hope you have a good practice and that your family likes the cake, sempai! Obaachan, where are the bentos that I made this morning?"

"I put the chawamushi and the roasted mackerel are in the teacher's lounge's refrigerator," her grandmother answered as she smiled. "And the other things are on my desk. I'll pick you up after you're done with your tennis lesson from Yuuta; just call me."

"Hai, Obaachan," Sakuno nodded obediently. She turned to bow politely at Tezuka then at Kawamura. "Please enjoy the cake and cookies."

"I'm sure we will and thank you for your gift," Kawamura said as he smiled at her as she gave one last bow and started to walk away. He frowned thoughtfully as he watched her disappear around the corner then he looked at Ryuzaki-sensei. "Sensei-"

"So where are the others?" Tezuka demanded as he looked at Kawamura.

Kawamura was about to answer when the clubroom door slammed open and he felt a sudden weight glomming on to his back. "Oh! Eiji!"

"Let me see! Let me see!" Kikumaru exclaimed as he grabbed the gingerbread man from Tezuka's hand. His eyes were round as he looked at it. "Nyah! Oishi! Come look! This really looks like Tezuka!"

Kikumaru passed of the cookie to Oishi before he grabbed the box of cookies from Kawamura. "Nyah! Let me see what everyone looks like! Sugoi! Sugoi! Oishi! This looks like Oishi! And me! Inui has a data book with him! And Kaidoh has a bandana! Oh! Momo! You look so cute as a cookie! And Ochibi has a white hat!"

As most of the team gathered around Kawamura and Kikumaru, Ryoma came out of the clubroom slowly, gripping his racket. _'She made chawamushi? She's making bentos for Fuji Yuuta? What the does she mean that Fuji Yuuta's real hero?'_

Momo whistled as he admired the gingerbread version of himself. "She's very good at this! Look at how she made my hair! She used licorice strings for it!" He grabbed the Echizen gingerbread man and showed it to Echizen. "Look at the details! She even got your hat and how your hair falls out of it as well! What do you have to say?"

Blinking, Ryoma took the gingerbread man and studied. It really was well made and detailed. In fact, it looked pretty good but he would rather have his tennis racket taken away for life before he would admit that to his nosy sempai. Shoving his cap down his head to hide his blush, Ryoma merely shrugged. "It's gingerbread."

"We know that, Echizen," Momo practically shouted as he glared at Echizen and shoved it into his hands. "But what do you have to say about how it looks? Isn't it the splitting image of you?"

Seriously embarrassed and annoyed, Echizen glared at Momo. "It looks like she made it out of sugar and licorice."

"She did make it out of licorice and sugar. So you all like how the cookies came out?" Ryuzaki chuckled as she looked at her regulars. "They taste as good as they are decorated."

Oishi blinked as he looked at his cookie. "How long did it take her to make it?"

"Oh, I think she spent a couple of hours last night making them after we left Kawamura's restaurant," Ryuzaki smiled. "It took longer for her to bake the raisin bread and make the soup buns for Yuuta than it did to make these."

"Sakuno-chan made raisin bread for Yuuta? And she soup buns?" Fuji smiled as he looked at his coach. "The boys in his dorm will be going crazy with envy again."

Kawamura looked at him puzzled. "And why would that happen?"

Fuji gave his friend a bright smile and shook his head. "Because Sakuno-chan's foods are almost as good as gold in an all male dorm. Yuuta sometimes uses it as currency if he has any leftover or if he's desperate. Most of the time, however, everything Sakuno-chan cooked is just about finished by the second day in the dorm."

"But she said that she wasn't a very good cook," Kawamura said in surprise.

"Sakuno was probably comparing herself to one of her uncles, who happens to be a master chef," Ryuzaki-sensei said as she shook her head. "She's actually a pretty good cook- considering that she only knows how to use a steak knife and a paring knife."

Confused, Kachiro looked at Ryuzaki-sensei. "Why doesn't she use a regular knife?"

"Because she always manages to hurt herself with it, some way, some how," Ryuzaki-sensei answered as she shook her head. "She's just like her mother when she was young- Sakuno can hurt herself just by standing in place."

"Is that so?" Inui mused as he added the information down into his book. As he wrote, he kept one eye on Echizen and commented, "Seems like this would be important for Kawamura to know before his wedding day." Smiling slightly, Inui saw Echizen pull his cap down as the short regular snorted. "This would be very good data to know."

"Inui! It's not a set thing and I have no idea what is going on!" Kawamura scolded as his face turned red and he resembled a cooked lobster.

"But I don't think that it is a good idea at all for Ryuzaki to be cooking for another man, nyah!" Kikumaru blinked as he looked at Kawamura and Ryuzaki-sensei. "Don't you think that it's that bad? I mean if little Ryuzaki is going to be match-made and then married with Taka-san-"

"What? Who said that?" Ryuzaki blinked as she looked at Kikumaru. "What are you talking about? Well?"

"Well- we- well, we heard it," Kikumaru stammered as he looked at his coach. "We heard that Taka-san and your granddaughter are going to be match-made."

"She's only twelve years old! Far too young to be match made!" Ryuzaki-sensei announced with a glared. "I wouldn't match make my granddaughter for the world. Now who said that this was going to happen?"

Ryoma blinked when the sempai-tachi stood behind him then winced when his coach yelled, "Ryoma! Where are you getting these ideas from?"

Puzzled, Echizen looked at his coach. "But you said yesterday- with Kawamura-sempai's mother that it would be a good idea to match-make them-"

"Is that what this nonsense is about? I was trying to get her mind off the alcohol," Ryuzaki said as she shook her head. "Ryoma, you saw how she was yesterday- if you hadn't distracted her by insulting her; it would have taken at least another fifteen minutes for her to even allow me to pour the alcohol on."

_Uh-oh,_ Ryoma thought as he felt rather than saw the dangerous aura coming from his sempai-tachi. "It wasn't like I meant to insult her, sensei-"

"You were just yourself when you said it, right?" Kachiro said as he shook his head. Katsuo simply nodded his head.

"Just like that time," Horio said as he shook his head.

"Echizen! How could you?" Oishi said as he shook his head in disappointment. Kaidoh just hissed as he shook his head.

"Ochibi! That wasn't nice!" Kikumaru scolded as he shook his head.

"Now, now, it wasn't so bad," Kawamura said as he tried to placate his teammates. "She might have cried because of the insult but it did-"

"She cried?" Fuji interrupted as he looked at Kawamura. "Sakuno-chan cried again?"

"She cried?" Inui said as he looked at Kawamura. "Just like she did after she believed he insulted her bento?"

His face flushed with anger, Momo's eyes bulged. "You INSULTED her? First you mistakenly make her cry over her bento and then you insult her directly and make her cry! What kind of man are you?"

"I did not intentionally insult her!" Ryoma growled back. "I just said she looked bad with that blood smeared on her face!"

"You really didn't say that to her, did you, Ryoma-kun?" Kachiro asked as he stared at Ryoma.

"He said it," Horio said as he looked at Echizen for a moment with his arms crossed. Katsuo nodded in agreement. "He said it."

"Oh dear," Oishi said faintly. "You said that? He really said that Taka-san?"

"He really said that," Kawamura said as he shook his head. "She took it as him saying that she looked disgusting… which made her even more upset."

"Fssh," Kaidoh hissed as he shook his head.

"You just keep doing the same thing over and over again," Fuji sighed as he shook his head.

"You should not have said that!" Momo shouted as he shook his head. "Now she's NEVER EVER going to make another bento for you again!"

"Now, now, you never know," Oishi said as he glanced worriedly at Echizen. "She just might."

"After mistakenly insulting her twice, nyah?" Kikumaru yelped as he stared at Oishi. "You really believe that she'll make a bento for Ochibi? Ochibi's lucky she still comes to his games! She'll never make a bento for Ochibi! Right, Inui? Nyah!"

"Actually the probability is ninety percent that she wouldn't make him another bento," Inui said as he looked at his data book. "That's close to never in a girl's mind."

"Are you going to try to analyze a woman's mind now?" Ryuzaki-sensei asked as her eyebrow went up in amusement. She shook her head. "You'd have a better chance to reach for the moon with your own hands, Inui."

"Really," Inui said as he adjusted his glasses.

"You mean that there's a chance that Ochibi will get a bento from Ryuzaki-chan?" Kikumaru asked eagerly.

Momo looked at his teacher eagerly. "And maybe a love letter and declaration?"

"Eiji!" Oishi scolded as his face turned red. "Momo!"

"Enough of this! Everyone! Thirty laps! NOW!" Tezuka shouted. He glared at his team. "We have to get ready for Hyotei!"

"We'll finish this later!" Momo hissed as he ran next to Echizen who immediately sped up.

"Ochibi! Nyah! There's hope for you yet!" Kikumaru called out as he started running. "Race you Oishi! Nyah!"

"Mada mada dane," Ryoma said as he took off into a faster run. He scowled as he thought about what his sempai-tachi said then glared at Inui-sempai as he ran next to him. _'Ninety percent chance that I'll never get a bento again? I'll rise above that data and get a bento from Ryuzaki if it's the last thing I do.'_

* * *

P

O

T

P

O

T

* * *

As he ran, Inui ran the notes he had collected in his head. He remembered the facts he had gathered at the tournament against Yamabuki, where he had seen Fuji and Ryuzaki together.

**Fact A: Ryuzaki was walking with Fuji towards the consolation games. **

**Fact B: She was carrying a bento box with her. **

**Fact C: Fuji was carrying something in a bag.**

**Question A: Why was Ryuzaki with Fuji?**

**_Answer: She was off with Fuji to see Fuji Yuuta._**

**Question B: What was Fuji carrying? Was it his? Or Ryuzaki's?**

_**Answer: She wanted to give Fuji Yuuta a bento**_

Inui's glasses gleamed as he thought about the conclusions.

**Conclusion A: Ryuzaki had formed a brother/sister relationship with Fuji Yuuta.**

**Conclusion B: Ryuzaki is in the throes of hero worship of Fuji Yuuta.**

Then Inui frowned as new information popped up in his head.

**Observation 1: Fuji seemed disturbed at supposition that Ryuzaki was dating Kawamura.**

**Observation 2: Echizen seemed disturbed to think that Ryuzaki was dating Kawamura.**

**Observation 3: Echizen was disturbed at the thought of his causing Ryuzaki distress.**

**Observation 4: Fuji was disturbed at the thought of Echizen causing Ryuzaki distress.**

**Observation 5: Ryuzaki was neither defending nor was she accusing Echizen for incident with finger.**

**Conclusion: Inconclusive. Need more data.**

Sighing over the lack of data, Inui went back to the facts he knew.

**Fact A: Fuji calls Ryuzaki 'Sakuno-chan.'**

**Fact B: Kawamura calls Ryuzaki 'Sakuno-chan.'**

**Fact C: Ryuzaki calls Kawamura 'Taka-san'**

**Fact D: Only Fuji knows how tasty Ryuzaki's cooking is.**

**Fact E: Ryuzaki refuses to make a bento for Echizen.**

**Fact F: Echizen never noticed he never received a bento from Ryuzaki after incident as described by Freshmen Trio.**

Inui frowned as he grouped everything in his mind.

**Conclusion 1: Fuji has a soft spot for Ryuzaki.**

**Question 1: Does Ryuzaki have a close relationship with Fuji due to his younger brother?**

**Conclusion 2: Kawamura has a soft spot for Ryuzaki and vice versa.**

**Question 2: Does Kawamura and Ryuzaki have a close relationship?**

**Conclusion 3A: Echizen is oblivious or is ignoring to Ryuzaki's feelings.**

**Conclusion 3B: Ryuzaki seems to have changed her feelings for Echizen.**

**Question 3C: What will Echizen do now?**

At the final question, Inui's glasses gleamed as he slid a look at his young teammate. _More data. I need more data._


	6. Watching Kids in the Park

**Author's Notes (1): Okay, my Japanese sucks, but thankfully next to none used for this one. The one I did use is Neesan- and I do hope I used it correctly (younger brother to older sister).**

**Author's Notes (2): I have no idea what Tomoko's younger brothers' names are, so I made them up. And the villains, I hope are fairly recognizable. If not, the anime that they belong to in are written at the end.**

* * *

Title: Watching Kids in the Park

* * *

"Why the hell does that guy want to come here?" muttered the boy of fifteen years as he looked around the public park with boredom. He readjusted his tennis bag on his shoulder, wincing momentarily as his newest treasures, the much desired DVD special edition of Titanic and Breakfast at Tiffany's, knocked against his tennis racket. Reminded of his treasure and what he wanted to be doing instead of wandering around the park looking for the tennis courts, he scowled momentarily. "Atobe had better have a good reason for interrupting my down time."

There was nothing going on as he walked along the path between the trees. He flicked his shoulder length black hair back in annoyance. "What could be so interesting about street tennis? Or anything in a park this small? There's nothing here. I don't understand him."

Muffling a yawn, he shook his head to wake himself up. In mid-shake he stopped then cocked it as he heard a voice. "What was that?"

Then he heard it again, a small voice crying out and some thrashing. Curious, he walked between the trees and towards the sounds. Not wanting to disturb anyone if there was nothing wrong, he walked cautiously towards the sounds.

Then blinked as he saw a young girl with long brown hair sitting on top of a small boulder, one of many that was used to decorate the path in the park. Her brown tresses framed her small face, making her look like a porcelain china doll. From her size, she looked like she was an elementary school girl. She sat on the boulder with her hands clasped to her chest, her eyes closed and he face dreamy as she sang, _"Moon River, wider than a mile... I'm crossing you in style one day... dream maker, you heart breaker, Where ever you're going…I'm going your way… Two drifters off to see the world, it's such a lovely world to see..."_

Entranced at the sound of someone singing the theme song to his favorite movie, Oshitari Yuushi moved closer to get a good look at the child who was singing. "_We're after the same rainbow's end…Waiting 'round the bend… My huckleberry friend… Moon River and me…"_

Though she was slightly off key and had an obvious Japanese accent while singing, there was no choice. He just had to smile at the pure sweet sound of her voice. It certainly wasn't anything like an angel singing, but who could resist not smiling when a child knew her song and sang it with so much love in her heart. He absentmindedly sighed as he thought, "Humph, I suppose if she trains she could have a good voice someday. Pity she's not older."

He was about to leave when she suddenly wailed out, "Oh what am I to do? Someone please help me! I'm so scared! What I am to do? I am a princess trapped on this enchanted rock. There are dragons and ogres and monsters all around me! My retainers are all gone and my family imprisoned. Who is to save me?"

A rustling came from behind the girl and out jumped a pair of identical twin boys, both of whom looked as if they had just gotten out of their diapers yesterday. One was brandishing a covered tennis racket with both hands as best as he could while the other twin was holding up a small toy shovel in the air. The two stood with their arms entwined, chests out and stomachs in. Both looked like Superman of the old movies when he presented himself or Atobe when he was at his most dramatic and his chest stuck out.

"We will save you!" shouted the twin with the shovel. "I am Yuki!"

"And I am Yoshiro!" shouted the twin with the tennis racket.

"We will save you, princess!" shouted out Yoshiro with a lisp. "For we are the-"

"Brave samurai of the Osakada clan!" finished Yuki. He entwined his arm around his brother's. "We're the Super-duper Stupendous Fantastic Ultimate-Samurai Twin Osakadas!"

"Oh! I'm saved! It's my heroes!" Princess S'kuno sighed loudly as she clasped her hands to her chest. "It's the Super-duper Stupendous Fantastic Ultimate-Samurai Twin Osakadas!"

"Super-duper Fantastic Ultimate-Samurai Twin Osakadas?" Oshitari repeated as he stared dumbly at the twins then chuckled as he realized what was going on. Shaking his head at their antics and thankful he was no longer an embarrassing grade-schooler, he quickly ducked behind a tree ready to leave the children to play their innocent game of imagination.

* * *

Prince

Of

Tennis

Prince

Of

Tennis

* * *

"Monsters and evildoers beware! You will pay for kidnapping Princess S'kuno!" Yoshiro shouted with a lisp. "For we are the brave Twin Osakada Samurai!"

"We'll free you from that place, Princess S'kuno!" Yuki lisped just as loudly. "We got the magic racket and shovel! Just tell us where's the monsters! And who put you in the foul cage!"

* * *

Prince

Of

Tennis

Prince

Of

Tennis

* * *

A puzzled look on his face, Oshitari had to stop as he looked back at the playing children. "What child in grade school says 'foul'?"

Unable to resist, he snuck back to watch the children.

* * *

Prince

Of

Tennis

Prince

Of

Tennis

* * *

"Oh my heroes! It was the evil magicians most foul," Princess S'kuno cried out as she looked at the two heroes. "They were the magicians from- um, the magicians from Ginka!"

Yoshiro looked at the princess. "S'kuno- we fought them already. You have to think of a new name for the villains."

"Sorry, sorry," Princess S'kuno apologized. "How about the evil magicians from Yamabuki?"

"I think we did that name," Yuki said as he stuck his finger in his mouth. "And we need a scarier name, S'kuno."

"All right, let me think," S'kuno said as she racked her brain for a name. The smiled brightly. "I know, how about the evil magicians of Hyotei!"

Yoshiro scowled as he looked at S'kuno. "That's not a scary name!"

"Not scary at all!" Yuki agreed as she looked at S'kuno.

Sighing, S'kuno brought her hair over her face, making her look like Cousin Itt from the Adams family. She brought up her arms in a threatening manner as she loomed above them and announced in an eerie voice, "The powerful and evil magicians of Hyotei do deeds most foul. They have defeated many a good samurai, wizard and hero. They have used their magic to make the rivers run dry and the animals go wild. They have taken all the cookies and candy for themselves and melted all the ice cream!"

Yoshiro looked at S'kuno with wide eyes. "That's not real, S'kuno!"

"ALL the cookies and candy?" Yuki asked doubtfully.

"And they eat broccoli and Brussels sprouts for breakfast!" S'kuno added. "And they put in place of all dessert! And they want everyone to eat carrot cake!"

Yoshiro made a face. "S'kuno! That's just gross!"

"Bleech!" Yuki grimaced. "Carrots are yucky!"

"And let the heroes know, they have cast a spell on me- if you do not rescue me, I will change into a monster like this forever!" S'kuno cackled as she peered at the twins through her hair. "And I will make sure that you both will always eat broccoli, Brussels sprouts and carrot cake everyday! Ha-ha-ha!"

The twins stared at her, unsure if she was pretending or not. "You can't do that!"

"Oh, I can feel myself changing!" S'kuno pulled her hair away from her face. "Oh, please save me! Save me from being a broccoli and Brussels sprouts eater!"

Secretly glad that S'kuno had pulled her hair back and was looking like her pretend princess-self, Yoshiro brandished his imaginary weapon again, "We will save you from that Princess S'kuno!"

"We'll save you, S'kuno!" Yuki shouted as he lifted the tennis racket. "You'll be free!"

"Look! There's a two headed dragon over there!" Princess S'kuno screamed as she pointed at a large bush. "And there's a basilisk with it!"

The twin vigorously attacked the life-threatening bushes. When the bushes were quite dead, a twin shouted, "Are there anymore, Princess S'kuno?"

"Oh no! It's the Toguro the Elder! And there's Cherubimon! " Princess S'kuno cried out as she pointed to another set of bushes. And again, the violent bushes went down in defeat.

Before they could ask again, the little princess pointed at another set of bushes. "Oh heavens! It's Naraku! And there's Envy! And there's Voldemort! And a revived Gyomao!"

"I got you, Naraku!" shouted Yoshiro as he twirled the tennis racket above his head then attacked the bush. "You're dead Voldemort!"

"You must pay for all your crimes, Envy! Go back to sleep Gyomao!" hollered Yuki as he thrust and thrashed his shovel at the other bush. When his bush was quite mangled, he looked over at the entrapped princess. "Are there anymore Princess S'kuno?"

"Oh no! There's a huge two-headed ogre over there! And a Hydra over there?" Princess S'kuno cried out as she pointed at another bush.

The twin brandishing the shovel looked at his twin then asked, "What's a Hydra?"

"Oh, sorry! It's a nine headed-snakelike monster," Princess S'kuno answered as she gave him an apologetic smile.

"Okay, Yoshiro, you get the Hydra, you got the tennis racket," ordered the twin with the shovel.

Yoshiro didn't like that. He shoved the tennis racket at his twin. "Niisan- you should get the Hydra, you're older."

His older brother shoved the tennis racket back at him. "You wanted the tennis racket because it was bigger so you should get the bigger monster."

Alarm started to filter through Princess S'kuno's face. She stood as she separated the boys, just in case they wanted to harm each other instead of the bushes. "Boys, forget the Hydra- it was my mistake. There is no Hydra."

"But there has to be another monster," Yuki pouted as he looked at her.

"We only got eight. Maybe nine if you count the ogre," Yoshiro scowled as he looked at her. "If there aren't any more monsters, then we can't call ourselves the Ten Demon Killer Twins."

Princess S'kuno sighed as she scratched her head then pointed at a bush. "Okay- there's the two headed ogre and over there! The most dreaded and most foul-"

"I'm back!"

"Oh no! It's back! The most hated monster of them all!" Yoshiro shouted as he hid behind his twin. "Stay away!"

"You won't come near us! Stay away monster!" Yuki shouted as he hid behind Princess S'kuno. "Princess S'kuno will protect us from you, you foul beast!"

* * *

Prince

Of

Tennis

Prince

Of

Tennis

* * *

"I don't think I like Hyotei being called evil magicians, Oshitari-san," said a voice over Oshitari's shoulder. "And a cookie and candy thief."

Startled, the Hyotei tensai looked back to see Choutarou Otori's face, his eyes watching the boys stay away from the newly appeared girl. He shook his head amusedly. "I don't think I like being called a broccoli and Brussels sprouts breakfast eater. I don't think I'd mind having the carrot cake for breakfast though."

"Is carrot cake good, Oshitari-san?" Otori asked as he looked at the tensai.

Oshitari's answer was cut short by a loud shout.

* * *

Prince

Of

Tennis

Prince

Of

Tennis

* * *

"Tomo- Tomo-chan!" Sakuno exclaimed as she looked to see her friend stomp towards them. Recognizing the irate look in her eyes, she put up her hands to try and stop her friend. "You're back from shopping so soon!"

"Who are you calling a foul beast, you brats?" Tomoko shouted as her hand came down to bop the two twins on their heads. "IS that any way to call your beloved Neesan?"

"Ittai!" Yoshiro shouted as he grabbed his head.

"Ittai!" Yuki screeched as he grabbed his head. He scowled at his older sister. "Ittai!"

"That should hurt!" Tomoko scolded as she glared back. "I go away for twenty minutes to do the shopping and you're calling me that!"

"Foul beast!" Yuki and Yoshiro shouted as they glared up defiantly. Then regretted it as soon as the hand came back down again. "Ittai!" "Ittai!"

"I'll 'foul beast' you, you brats!" Tomoko threatened. "Just for that I'm going to make you eat ALL your carrots and broccoli tonight!"

"S'kuno! Protect us!" Yoshiro cried out as he grabbed Sakuno's hand.

"Save us from the broccoli!" Yuki cried out as he grabbed Sakuno's other hand. When there was no answer, he looked up to see her face covered by her long hair. "S'kuno!"

"Too late… S'kuno is no more- she is now the Broccoli Eating Monster of Hyotei!" Sakuno intoned loudly. She loomed over the twins threateningly. "AAAHHHH!"

"NOOOoooo!" screamed Yoshiro and Yuki as they grabbed each other then fell down on their bottoms. "Neeeeee-saaaaan! Ittai!"

"Quiet! You two are so loud!" Tomoko scolded as she looked down at her brothers. She shook her head as she looked at her friend. "Neh, Sakuno, if you get them too worked up, my parents won't appreciate it no matter how much the brats deserve to be scared."

"Okay, I'll stop," Sakuno said cheerfully as she pulled her hair back and started to tie it into a pigtail. "Did you get everything you needed?"

"Yep, now we can head off home," Tomoko said as she lifted up her bags of groceries. "Yoshiro, Yuki, the two of you can carry a bag."

"That was mean, S'kuno!" Yuki shouted as he looked at her.

"And you really shouldn't have called your Neesan a foul beast," Sakuno said as she knelt down to pick up her racket and the toy shovel. "Didn't I tell you that you shouldn't use that unless we're pretending?"

"Since we don't know what 'foul' means, it doesn't count," Yuki said stubbornly.

"It does since you called your sister a beast and you know what that means," Sakuno countered as she looked at him in askance. "So you know it's not a nice thing to say to a person."

"S'kuno, Hyotei isn't real right?" Yoshiro demanded as he scowled at her. "You made it all up!"

"Hyotei? You used Hyotei?" Tomoko blinked as she looked at her friend. "I thought that Ginka was the villain."

"They wanted a new villain," Sakuno shrugged as she grabbed the hand of Yuki and started to lead him out of the park. "So why not use Hyotei?"

"It's not a scary name," Tomoko said as she grabbed Yoshiro's hand and followed her friend.

"Neesan! Hyotei is real?" Yoshiro screeched as he looked up at his sister.

"You weren't pretending, S'kuno?" Yuki screeched in horror. He looked at his brother. "I'm hiding all my candy!"

"We have to eat all the ice cream!" Yoshiro gasped in fear.

"Just what did you tell them about Hyotei?" Tomoko demanded as they walked down the path.

* * *

Prince

Of

Tennis

Prince

Of

Tennis

* * *

"Great, the name of Hyotei is being used to scare little kids now," Oshitari said as he shook his head in rueful amusement. He started towards the path he wandered from. "I suppose that would be a good thing when they start going to junior high school."

"It could be worse, Oshitari-san," Otori laughed as he followed. "We could be the ones receiving the scolding and the smack on the head." He winced in remembered memory. "Think all sisters know how to hit like that?"

"She was kind, she used the palm of her hand," Oshitari shrugged. "My Neesan used her knuckle on my head to keep me in line. Gakuto is lucky; his older sister just likes to flick his forehead."

"Poor Oshitari-san," Otori chuckled. "I guess we should be thankful we don't have older brothers like Shishido-san. I heard that Shishido-san's older brother would grab him by the neck then headlock and knuckle him until he apologizes at least twenty times."

"Sounds very painful," Oshitari winced as he imagined it. "Thank heavens I'm too big for my sister to put into a head lock."

"So am I," Otori chuckled. "Have been since I was in the fifth grade."

"Where the hell were you two?" called out a voice. Oshitari and Otori looked to see an irate Mukahi Gakuto looking at them. "We've got to hurry and meet Atobe before he gets pissed. And this had better not take long, I have to get home fast- I'll be in big trouble if I don't."

"Sorry Mukahi-san," Otori said cheerfully as he walked faster.

"We're coming," Oshitari said mildly as he walked over to his doubles partner.

"Where the hell were you?" Gakuto asked as he looked behind his partner. "What was going on over there?"

"Nothing special, we were just watching some kids pretending while looking for you," Oshitari shrugged. He smiled slowly. "Did you know that Hyotei are considered evil magicians that eat broccoli and Brussels sprouts for breakfast?"

"What?" Gakuto shouted as he stared at his partner. "Have you been watching too many of your romance movies, Yuushi?"

Otori nodded angelically. "And we eat up all the cookies and cakes and candy of the world and we melt all ice cream. And we change little girls to Broccoli Eating Monsters."

"Hairy Broccoli Eating Monsters," Oshitari added as he looked at his partner's gaping face.

"Very hairy Broccoli Eating Monsters," Otori nodded.

"You're nuts." Gakuto stared at the younger teammate then at his partner. "The both of you- I'm walking to the tennis courts myself."

While Otori tried to hide his laughter, Oshitari snickered aloud at his partner's agitation. "Hey! We were only teasing Gakuto! Gakuto!"

End.

**

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Author's Note (3): I used villains that a kid aged five or six might know, especially one that has an older sister. The villains from anime series and one fictional work: ****Toguro the Elder: Yuyu Hakusho; Cherubimon: Digimon (not that I watch it, but it's a kids thing); Naraku: Inuyasha; Envy: Fullmetal Alchemist; Voldemort: Harry Potter series; and ****Gyomao: Saiyuki**


	7. An Uneventful Saturday

**Author's Notes (1): Okay, my Japanese sucks. So in this chapter, by the grace of convenience, there's no use of it.  **

**Author's Notes (2): This happens before meeting Hyotei and before the episode 50 (Seigaku's Claim to Fame).**

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Title: An Uneventful Saturday

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"Sakuno!" called out Sumire Ryuzaki as she put on her sneakers and grabbed her handbag. "I'm going now!"

"Take care, Obaachan," Sakuno said as she popped her head into the foyer. She grinned as she looked at her grandmother. "Have a good practice today!"

"I'm sure that we will," her grandmother smiled. "Now- you have your keys? And you have your cell phone? And the directions and the map? Are you sure that you're going to be all right? You really don't need a ride? Are you sure that you don't want to do this tomorrow? I'm free tomorrow, Sa-chan."

"Obaachan, I'm not a baby anymore," Sakuno pouted as she looked at her grandmother. "I can go to Haritatsu's by myself. And I have everything with me."

"You've only been there once," her grandmother countered. "And that was when Ryoma took you, Sakuno. Why don't I ask him-?"

"Obaachan! He has to practice with the team today!" Sakuno exclaimed as she looked at her grandmother, her face all red at the fact that her grandmother was trying to get Ryoma to take her to Haritatsu's again. It was just too embarrassing to have her grandmother arrange for her met up with Ryoma-kun every time she needed help with anything from everything related to tennis to helping her with her English homework to making sure she doesn't hurt herself in the hallways.

Sumire Ryuzaki raised her eyebrow. "I was going to say that maybe he could take you tomorrow instead of today."

Sakuno shook her head. "I have a tennis lesson with Yuuta-oniisan tomorrow after morning mass and then I have to go to my koto and piano lessons with Morimoto-san at her house. I only have today to weed the garden, do the laundry and to get my tennis racket restrung." She grinned brightly at her grandmother. "I have to get my racket restrung again!"

"Yes, you must get your racket restrung again," her grandmother smiled indulgently. "Fine then, you may go alone. But at the first sign of trouble, Sa-chan-"

"I will call you on the cell phone," Sakuno promised as she saluted then she tiptoed to give her grandmother a kiss on her cheek. "Take care, Obaachan."

Resigned, Sumire gave her granddaughter one last hug. "I'll be home at about five. Be home before me."

"Okay, Obaachan," Sakuno chirped as she looked at her grandmother.

Sumire turned around. "Well then, why don't you get Yuuta-?"

"Because he's still at school with his team helping them get ready for their mini-bazaar next week," Sakuno interrupted as she looked at her grandmother in askance. "And he doesn't know when he'll be home. I will be fine, Obaachan. Really! If you keep worrying about me, you're going to be late!"

Knowing Sakuno could be as every bit stubborn as her, her grandmother sighed in resignation. "Fine, I'm off then. Don't forget to lock the door. And don't forget your keys or your wallet."

"Hai, Obaachan," Sakuno saluted again. "I will lock the door and not forget my wallet."

Her grandmother scowled. "And don't forget your cell phone!"

"Hai, Obaachan," Sakuno saluted again. "I will not forget my cell phone."

Her grandmother frowned. "And don't get lost!"

"Hai, Obaachan," Sakuno saluted again. "I will not get lost."

Her grandmother narrowed her eyes. "Are you teasing your Obaachan?"

"Hai! I am teasing my Obaachan!" Sakuno saluted again. She gave her grandmother a cheeky smile. "Are you done giving orders?"

"Are you sure that you don't want me to call Sanada-Baasan and Jiji-san to take you?" Sumire asked. "I'm sure that they would-"

"Baasan is having a meeting with the hospital board and Jiji-san is evaluating his students at the dojo today," Sakuno said with a small amount of exasperation. "I will be fine, Obaachan."

Rolling her eyes, Sumire Ryuzaki sighed. "All right then. See you in the afternoon."

"Hai! See you in the afternoon!"

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In the middle of the semi-crowded streets, there was a lone voice that could be heard.

One voice that was shriller and more frightening than all the others….

"I just can't be lost!"

"This cannot be happening," Sakuno moaned as she looked at her map and the directions then at the street she was on. She bit her lip in frustration. "Where am I? I have no idea where I am."

"Don't get lost Sakuno," Sakuno said as she mimicked her grandmother.

"I won't get lost," said as she answered herself mockingly. "And what do I do the moment I step off the train? I get lost."

Sakuno sighed as she looked at her map again.

"Can I help you?" asked a voice. Sakuno looked up to see a couple of older boys looking at her and immediately she blushed in embarrassment. "Are you lost?"

"Ha-hai," Sakuno stammered as she looked at him. She showed him the map. "Do you know where this street is?"

The taller boy took the map from her, started reading it then lowered it enough for her to see where his finger was pointing. "I take it you want to go here?"

Tiptoeing to see where he was pointing, Sakuno never noticed the other boy whip out his camera phone and try to place it under her skirt.

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"Sensei! Ryuzaki-sensei!"

Sumire Ryuzaki blinked as she noticed the vice captain of her tennis club calling her name. "Oh! I'm sorry, Oishi. My mind was wandering. Did you want something?"

"Just some papers for you to look over," Oishi replied as he looked at his coach. He glanced over at Tezuka who simply shrugged. "Are you all right, sensei? You don't seem to be yourself."

"I'm fine," Ryuzaki said smiled as she looked at her students. She looked embarrassed as she put down her clipboard. "I'm sorry. I'm just a little distracted- Sakuno's going to get her racket restrung today at Haritatsu's."

Tezuka widened his eyes and immediately understood his coach's distraction. "I see. It should be safe enough."

Ryuzaki looked at Tezuka and gave him a small unhappy smile. "I hope."

"That's a good thing, isn't that?" Oishi said as he looked at Tezuka and then his coach. "It means she's improving her tennis."

"It also means that she's going alone," Inui said as he walked over with his green data book.

Oishi's eyes widened as he immediately understood the implications. "I'm sure that she'll be fine. The streets aren't that crowded in the morning. And I'm sure that you gave her good directions. And a map."

"Is there a group discussion going on here?" called out a voice. Oishi looked over to see Fuji and his partner, Eiji Kikumaru, come over. Fuji smiled. "Everyone looks so serious."

"Is it a Big Plan to defeat Hyotei, nyah?" Kikumaru asked eagerly as he looked at his partner.

"There's no real discussion about that," Oishi smiled as he glanced at his teacher. "We're just discussing Ryuzaki-sensei's granddaughter."

"Is anything wrong? Has something happened to Sakuno-chan?" Fuji asked as he looked at his teacher with open eyes.

"No, no, nothing's wrong," Oishi said quickly as he ignored Inui writing things down in his data book. "She just went to get her racket restrung at Haritatsu's."

Fuji whipped his head to look at his coach. "By herself, Sumire-chan?"

Giving the tensai an irritated glance, Ryuzaki-sensei answered tersely, "Who are you calling me Sumire-chan? And yes, she went alone."

"Oh my," Fuji said as his eyes widened. "Does she know the way?"

"I gave her the directions and a map and I made sure that her cell phone was fully charged so she could call me," Ryuzaki sighed as she rubbed her forehead. "I even gave her cab fare just in case she gets lost."

"Then I'm sure that she will be fine, sensei," Oishi said soothingly. "After all it's not her first time that she's going to Haritatsu's. She went before-"

"She was with Ryoma before," Ryuzaki said bluntly as she looked at Oishi. "And now she's going by herself- For the first time."

Oishi paled then rallied himself. "So she's been there before- she should know the way then."

"All that means is that she now has an 80 percent chance of getting lost," Inui said as he calculated. "And given her track record of trouble finding her-"

"Nyah! You don't think she could be kidnapped!" Kikumaru exclaimed in a horrified tone.

"Eiji!" Oishi shouted as he looked at his partner. He glanced at his teacher's suddenly ashen face.

"I don't think that will happen," Tezuka said calmly as he looked at the other half of his team's Golden Pair. It was best to get this all calmed down before the redheaded doubles specialist said something else.

Waving his arms excitedly, Kikumaru continued, "But Tezuka! Oishi! Nyah! I'm serious! Nyah! I heard on the news just last night that a girl was-"

"Eiji! She will not be kidnapped," Fuji said firmly as he looked at his friend. "Right, Inui?"

Inui looked at his book. "Hmm…The probability of her being kidnapped in broad daylight is about five percent, but given her ability to have something that remote happen to her it increases her chances of-"

"Everyone! Twenty laps!" Tezuka commanded in a loud voice. "Now!" When no one moved, his eyebrows lowered. "Ten more laps every second everyone remains where they are. Thirty laps- forty laps-"

Everyone stared at Tezuka then broke into a run.

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"Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

Sakuno lifted her head up to see an older, blonde haired boy suddenly coming at her, at full speed. Terrified, she stood stock still as he ignored her to grab someone behind her and flipped him over his shoulder then gave two quick punches to the guy's solar plexus and jaw.

"Who the hell are you attacking?" shouted the boy who was helping her. He shoved her away to lunge at the attacker.

Sakuno squeaked as she saw the attacker give the boy a roundhouse kick that knocked him into the ground, landing him next to his friend. The attacker glanced at her then returned his deadly gaze to the two on the ground. He went over to the first boy, picked up the open cell phone from his hand and then dropped it to the ground. He smiled coldly as he viciously stepped on it, crushing it. "We don't tolerate perverts who take pictures of innocent girls' panties around here."

Horrified, Sakuno stared at the two boys then at the attacker-turned savior. Her savior then whipped out his own cell phone and took their pictures. "I'm sending your faces to everyone that I know. And if they catch you doing this again, I'll do more than just stop you- I'll break your bones. Now get out of here."

As the boys scrambled to get away, the blonde haired boy looked at her. "And you should be more careful! Didn't you know what they were doing?"

Sakuno violently shook her head as she felt the tears gather in her eyes. "No- no…I didn't know. I'm sorry- I didn't know. He was helping me find- I didn't know what- I'm- I'm lost- I'm sorry!"

The boy looked lost as tears started rolling down her face. "Hey- look- it's all over now- You don't have to cry-"

"I'm just lost!" Sakuno cried as her breath started to hitch. "I- I just wanted- to get-get my racket- re-restrung by-by myself!"

With that, she flung herself at the boy's chest.

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"What's going on?" Momo demanded as he looked down at Echizen. "What did we do? Why is buchou angry with us? "

"No clue at all," Ryoma said as he started running faster, passing him and making him in line with his classmates.

"Why- why are we running forty laps?" Horio panted as he looked at Echizen who shrugged and then at Katsuo and Kachiro.

"I don't know," Kachiro gasped as he looked at Katsuo who shrugged.

Katsuo looked at Ryoma. "What do you think, Ryoma-kun?"

"Mada mada dane," Ryoma muttered as he started to run faster, leaving them behind.

"Do you think it was something the sempai-tachi said to Tezuka buchou?" Horio gasped.

"Are you blaming your sempai for this?" demanded a low hissing voice. The Freshmen Trio looked behind them and panicked.

"Not- not at all, Kaidoh-sempai!" Horio stammered before he forced his legs to go faster.

"Never!" Katsuo cried out with Kachiro as the raced to keep up with Horio.

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"I'm very sorry about that," Sakuno said as she wiped her eyes. "I sometimes just cry when I'm very emotional."

The boy sighed as he looked at her and patted her shoulder. He tried to give a reassuring smile and ignore his wet shirt. "No harm done."

"Thank you for saving me," Sakuno smiled back. She bowed formally to him. "My name is Ryuzaki Sakuno. And I'm looking for a racket stringer around the area."

The boy blinked. "Ah- I'm Hiyoshi Wakashi and maybe I can help you- my father's dojo is around here-"

"Oh! Is that where you learned your jujitsu? From your father?" Sakuno exclaimed as she looked at him with wide eyes. "That was a very nice roundhouse kick. And over the shoulder flip."

"Ah- thank you," Hiyoshi stammered as he looked at her strangely. "You practice?"

Sakuno shook her head ruefully. "No- no balance. The last time I flipped someone, he fell on top of me. I was very lucky Yuuta-oniisan was there. Anyway, everyone else in my family does some sort of martial art. Obaasan is a kendo master."

"I see," Hiyoshi said as he looked at her. At a loss for anything else to say, he cleared his throat. "So what's the name of the place you want to go to?"

"His name is Haritatsu and here are the directions," Sakuno said as she gave him the directions. She studied him as he read the directions on the paper. His hair was a lighter blonde than Yuuta-oniisan's and it sort of framed his strong looking face. He had a seriousness to him that reminded her of Kaidoh-sempai. To her, his hairstyle made him look like one of the Beatles from the sixties or if she were whimsical, she would thunk that he looked like a life-seized mushroom.

"I know where it is," Hiyoshi said as he looked up. He looked at his watch. "I have time- let me call my father and I'll take you there."

"I wouldn't like to impose," Sakuno stammered as she blushed.

"It's not an imposition," Hiyoshi said as he started walking and calling his father on his cell phone. "It would be expected of me."

"It would be expected of you?" Sakuno asked as she looked at him.

"My father would expect me to help someone who is lost," Hiyoshi said with a nod. "Hello, Father? I'm helping someone find Haritatsu's. So I'll be there in about an hour. All right. All right, bye. We can go now."

"Thank you," Sakuno bowed as she followed him.

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Sumire Ryuzaki looked at her watch then at her cell phone. She supposed that it was a good thing that Sakuno didn't call her. It meant that she wasn't lost or hurt or in a ditch somewhere.

Or kidnapped.

Her eyes narrowed. Could it be that her granddaughter wasn't able to call her?

No, that couldn't be the case. Who would want to kidnap her granddaughter? Why would they want to kidnap her granddaughter? Is she in a ditch somewhere? Or somehow hurt?

"Sensei!"

"Sakuno!" Ryuzaki shouted as she snapped out of her horrified thoughts. Then she blinked as she saw her regulars on the ground panting. It seemed that they had just finished running their forty laps. She blinked then looked at the young captain standing next to her.

"No, it's Tezuka," said her captain as he looked at her. "Sensei, if you wish to look in on her-"

"I can't do that," Ryuzaki groused. "I don't know where she is right now and I promised I wouldn't call her just to check up on her."

"But if I can call Yuuta, then he can check up on her," Fuji offered as he panted. He slowly stood unconsciously bringing everyone's attention to him. "Sakuno-chan will tell him where she is and he can walk her home. And that would make you worry less about her."

Ryoma lifted his head up to frown at the tensai. _This running was all because of Ms. Clumsy-Wobbly-Hips?_

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"Neh, you think there's something going on between Fuji-sempai's younger brother and Ryuzaki?" Horio whispered to Kachiro but kept his eyes on Fuji-sempai. One never knew what he might do. "She's been spending an awful lot of time with him, if you ask me."

Ryoma's eyes narrowed as he turned his head slightly to look at Horio. Kachiro shook his head as he watched the sempai as well, not noticing Ryoma's narrow eyes look. "I heard from Osakada that they're not dating- he just gives her tennis lessons every Tuesday in the park when he has time."

"I heard that she feeds him everything," Katsuo whispered as he watched the sempai as well. "I have a friend that goes to St. Rudolph and he says that Fuji-sempai's little brother has the best bento and snacks after he gives her a tennis lesson."

'I'm the one that's been giving her tennis lessons every Sunday and she's never fed me anything remotely homemade' Ryoma thought as he adjusted his cap and scowled slightly. 'She's always bought a bento for me.'

Horio shook his head and scratched it. "Seems to me that they could be dating if she's seeing him every Tuesday and feeding him- Ow! Echizen!"

"Sorry, didn't see you there, Horio," Ryoma said carelessly as he finished taking off his team jacket. His eyebrows knitted. 'They are not dating- dating isn't giving tennis lessons or giving food. It's more than that.'

_Yeah, it's about a girl spending her time making and giving delicious homemade bento to a guy. She makes him chawamushi and other tasty stuff,_ retorted the little voice in his head.

As Horio grumbled about being abused by Echizen, Kachiro looked at Katsuo and said in a low voice, "Did you notice that he always-"

"Uh-huh," Katsuo nodded as he watched Echizen speculatively. "And it's not just Horio- just yesterday while I was studying in the library, Tora was talking with Yukimura and Yukimura said he found Ryuzaki's clumsiness cute while Ryoma-kun was passing by- and just then Ryoma-kun suddenly tripped and dropped all the library books he was carrying on top of Yukimura's foot."

"The other day Kuwabara wondered if Ryuzaki was dating anyone to Miyama and he was hit with Ryoma-kun's tennis ball during practice," Kachiro nodded. Suddenly he stiffened when he felt a pair of eyes on him. When he turned, he noticed Inui-sempai writing something in his data book. He looked at Katsuo in alarm before he stammered, "Uh- Inui-sempai?"

"Yes, Kachiro?" Inui said as he continued writing.

"What are you writing down?" Kachiro asked timidly.

"Just some statistics," Inui said as he got up and stride towards Ryuzaki-sensei, Oishi, Fuji and Tezuka. 'And some of your very enlightening conversation.'

"Oh," Kachiro and Katsuo sighed in relief then they looked at each other in alarm when Horio let out a cry of surprise.

"Oi! Echizen! Watch where you're stretching your arms! You nearly hit me!"

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"If your brother does that, Fuji, there is a good 75 percent chance that your granddaughter won't know that you're checking up on her, sensei," Inui said as he looked at his book. "Or arranging for her to be watched."

"Thanks for the confirmation, Inui. That sounds like a good plan, Fuji," Oishi panted as he got up. "This way sensei won't have to worry about the needless things that Inui and Eiji said-"

"Nyah! I was just telling you what I saw on the news," Kikumaru protested as he looked at his partner. He panted, "What was wrong with mentioning the kidnapped girls? Nyah? Sensei should know that if little Ryuzaki is looking for the stringer in downtown that she could-"

"Little Ryuzaki is going downtown by herself? And to the stringer's?" Momo yelped in alarm and sat up immediately. "The last time we saw her downtown- there was a strange pervert monk that was following her and Echizen!"

"Huh? What? A pervert monk?" Ryoma stared as he looked at Momo-sempai as he vaguely remembered that day- he took Ryuzaki to Haritatsu's to get her strings changed. And all of a sudden while walking with her- she was talkative and then she started crying for no reason. And then out popped Momo-sempai, yelling at him about the god of dates and threatening him if he didn't apologize. He did it, he didn't know why he had to or what he did that had to merit an apology, but he did it and she seemed happy with the Ponta he gave her.

Now that he really thought about it- it meant that Momo-sempai was following him around while he was with Ryuzaki. And if he thought about it, was he the only one that was following them? _It couldn't have been…would he? Oyaji wouldn't have- would he?_

"There was a pervert that was following Sakuno!" Ryuzaki nearly shouted as she stared at Momoshiro. "What are you talking about? Sakuno never told me about any pervert monk when she went with Ryoma to Haritatsu's."

Kachiro sprung up. "Momo-sempai! How can you say that! You fed him after he complimented you on yelling at Ryoma-kun for making Ryuzaki cry!"

"And you were really worried when he collapsed in front of you!" Katsuo said.

"He tricked me!" Momo shouted back. "I thought he was starving! And besides it doesn't matter- a pervert is still a pervert!"

"That's right, nyah! A pervert is still a pervert, nyah!" Kikumaru said as he looked at the younger. "And if that pervert is still around while little Ryuzaki is going to Haritatsu's-"

"Eiji!" Oishi scolded in alarm. "Momo!"

Inui looked at his classmate. "Kikumaru! If you continue that sentence, Tezuka will-"

"Everyone do ten more laps!" Tezuka ordered as he glared at Kikumaru and Momoshiro. "Now. Fuji, go call your brother."

Everyone groaned as they picked themselves off the ground to run more laps.

"Sensei?" Fuji asked as he looked at his teacher.

"Do it," Ryuzaki said as she looked at him and smiled gratefully. "Thank you Fuji."

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"You mean we were running because sensei is worried about Sakuno-chan?" Kawamura panted as he looked at Oishi. "What's wrong?"

"It's her granddaughter's first trip by herself to Haritatsu's," Oishi panted as he looked at his friend. He gave a quick glare at Eiji, Momo and Inui. "And if these three hadn't proceeded to mention certain facts-"

"I did hear it on the news," Kikumaru exclaimed as he glared at his doubles partner.

"And there was a pervert after her the first time," Momo said with conviction.

Inui pushed up his glasses. "And it's a fact that her granddaughter has an 80 percent chance of getting lost-"

"You guys didn't have to mention it to her," Oishi scolded. "It was because that you mentioned her ability to get into trouble, the pervert monk and the girls getting kidnapped that has Tezuka angry and sensei upset!"

"I think I would be upset too if I heard that," Kawamura said as he glared at Kikumaru and Inui. Then he looked at Momo. "And if I knew it was her first trip alone there!"

"So the first time we did the forty was because of Kikumaru and Inui-sempai?" Momoshiro demanded as he looked at Oishi. "And we're running now for the same reason?"

"Don't you have ears? That was the reason before," Kaidoh just looked at his feet and hissed. "Now we're running for your stupidity."

"What was that, Mamushi?" Momo shouted as he glared at his rival.

"Mada mada dane," Ryoma said as he shoved his cap down even more and ran faster.

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The train started coming closer to the platform as two older members of St. Rudolph's tennis team waited for their younger member to finish his phone call.

"Hai, Aniki. Hai- I'll call right now, later," Yuuta said as he hung up the phone and immediately started calling another number. He waited as it started to ring.

His teammates looked puzzled as they looked at him. Yanagisawa cleared his throat. "What was that all about, da-ne?"

"Was your brother trying to see what we were doing?" Mizuki asked as he looked at Yuuta and twirled a lock of his hair.

Absently, Yuuta looked at his sempai. "No, it seems that Sakuno-chan went to get her racket restrung by herself today. The last time she was there, a pervert monk followed her there. And Aniki wants me to call her because Ryuzaki-sensei is upset because someone mentioned that and girls being kidnapped."

Mizuki frowned. "But the girl it happened to was extremely rich and well-connected."

"Someone else mentioned Sakuno-chan's ability to attract trouble," Yuuta frowned as he wondered why it was talking so long for her to answer.

Yanagisawa frowned as he thought about it. "Whoever said that has a point, da-ne. She does get into trouble a lot, da-ne. Remember how she nearly was hit by that guy on the street court with his tennis ball?"

"More like trouble just finds her, sempai," Yuuta said as he looked at his phone and frowned. "She's not- Ah! Sakuno-chan? Where are you?"

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"Yuuta-oniisan!" Sakuno smiled as she answered her phone. She smiled as she gave Hiyoshi-san a can of Ponta. "I made it to Haritatsu-san's place! No- I didn't get lost much… well, I sort of got lost but I was in the right area and then I was saved by Hiyoshi-san from a couple of perverts who were trying to put a camera phone under my skirt! He was a real hero- I didn't even know that they were doing anything! I'm fine! Really! Ah? Okay… Hiyoshi-san? Yuuta-oniisan would like to speak to you."

Hiyoshi looked from the martial arts movie he was watching to gingerly pick up the phone from her hand. He frowned. "Why does he want to speak to me?"

Sakuno smiled brightly, "Because Yuuta-oniisan wants to talk to the hero that saved me!"

"I'm not a hero," Hiyoshi mumbled as his cheeks turned red. Clearing his throat, he brought the phone to his mouth. "Hello?"

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"Yes, if you could please do that. Thank you," Yuuta sighed as he closed his eyes and shut his phone. "I think that I should just cage that child and not let her out until she's forty. It'll be safer for her that way.'"

"So what happened, da-ne," Yangaisawa asked as he looked at Yuuta. "What's he sending over, da-ne?"

"She got lost and when some guy offered to help her find the place, his friend tried to use his camera phone under her skirt while she was distracted," Yuuta said as he rubbed his forehead. "Then some guy- a jujitsu expert, saw this and beat the crap out of them and got their faces on his cell. I asked him to send it over."

Mizuki scowled as he looked at Yuuta. "So what's going to happen now?"

"Since she's almost done there, he's willing to walk her to the train station so she won't get lost again and I'll meet her at the station to walk her home," Yuuta said as he looked at his cell phone when it beeped. He opened the sent file and frowned, "These two guys look don't look familiar… but I know their jackets."

Taking the phone from Yuuta then gave it back to him, Mizuki looked at them and frowned, "These jackets are from Kakinoki Junior High. That's our first clue to finding them..."

"Those two are such lowlifes," Yanagisawa snarled as he punched a fist into his hand. "We should go after them as soon as possible, da-ne. They should be taught a lesson, da-ne. Mizuki- you'll find them won't you, da-ne? And when you do, we can get Akazawa and Atsushi and go there at once and teach them real good, da-ne."

"I should know who they are by Tuesday the latest," Mizuki said as he twirled his hair and made calculations on how to find the two perverts.

In the middle of calling his brother, Yuuta looked at his sempai. "Thank you sempai- I don't know what to say-"

Yanagisawa slapped Yuuta on his back. "Think nothing of it, da-ne. We have to do everything to protect your little girlfriend, da-ne."

His cheeks red, Yuuta slapped Yanagisawa's hand away. "She's not my girlfriend."

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As the rest of the team collapsed to the ground around him, Fuji stood talking with his brother.

"I see- All right then. Um-hm, I understand, all right- then I'll see you at home, wait Yuuta- can you send over that picture to me? Because I want it- thank you. See you at home," Fuji said then he closed his phone. He walked over to where Tezuka was quietly talking to Ryuzaki-sensei.

He looked at his sensei's concerned face and smiled brightly. "She was a little lost but she found her way with the help of someone. She should be heading home soon- she's meeting Yuuta so he can walk her home."

Ryuzaki let out a breath of relief she was holding. "Well- I should have expected that she would get lost somehow. And Yuuta said that he was walking her home?"

"He most certainly is," Fuji smiled at his teacher. "Though I'm not sure how safe Sakuno-chan will feel around him- he'll be walking her home with Yanagisawa and some other guy whose name I can't remember."

Ryuzaki blinked. "I can understand Yanagisawa- but who's the other guy?"

Fuji just shrugged. "Just some person on the St. Rudolph team- I can't remember his name. Anyway, she should be home soon."

"That's good to know," Ryuzaki said with a nod. "After a small rest- these guys can start practicing again. Thank you, Fuji."

"You're welcome, Sumire-chan," Fuji said as he grinned at her.

Too relieved about the safety of Sakuno, Ryuzaki shook her head. "I'll let you get away with that one for now. Practice starts in ten minutes."

Standing up, Oishi looked at Fuji in relief. "That's good to know- she was only a little lost and nothing happened." He gave an annoyed look at Momo, Inui and Kikumaru. "And you should know better than to get Ryuzaki-sensei excited like that."

"I didn't say nothing happened," Fuji said as he opened his phone when it beeped. He flipped it open and looked at it before passing it over to Inui. "Inui- can you find these two guys for me? I think they go to Kakinoki Junior High because of the jackets."

"It does look like Kakinoki jacket," Inui said as he looked at the two beaten boys in the small frame and frowned. "I might need to make the photo bigger, but I think I can find them."

"What happened, Fuji?" Tezuka demanded as he looked at the team's tensai. "What do you not want sensei to know?"

Bringing his fingers to his lips, Fuji opened his eyes and smiled, "Now Tezuka, if you must know… it's a secret for only the select few. And those who can't keep it, well…."

Everyone felt chills Fuji looked at Tezuka. The captain of the Seigaku tennis club simply lifted an eyebrow. He looked at the regular members and the non-regulars. "Rest time is over- first years- pick up balls on the courts. Second and Third years- work on your swings in courts B and C. Regulars will have matches in court A in five minutes. Move."

As the group dispersed, the regulars stayed and looked at Fuji. Tezuka crossed his arms and waited. "So what happened? Who are they?"

Fuji smiled coldly as his blue eyes flashed. "They're two perverts who will never try and use a camera phone under a girl's skirt ever again."

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Horio looked over to where all the regulars were and wished that he could be there. "So what do you think that they're all talking about?"

"Horio, stop looking there! I have no clue and I don't want to know," Kachiro shrugged.

Horio spun to look at Kachiro. "Aren't you the least bit curious? Katsuo?"

"Not the least bit," Katsuo said as he looked up from the ball he was picking up. "And you shouldn't be wondering either."

Horio rubbed his chin. "Think it could be about-"

"Horio! Grab that ball there!" Kachiro ordered. He smiled sheepishly as Horio stared at him. "I can't reach it."

Horio got the ball. "Honestly, do you think that they could talking about-"

"Ryuzaki? Maybe," Katsuo commented as he picked up a ball. "But I think they're more like talking about what Fuji-sempai's younger brother's told them about Hyotei. They wouldn't gossip about Ryuzaki-sensei's granddaughter like most people."

Indignant, Horio glared at Katsuo. "I don't gossip about Ryuzaki!"

"So then who is gossiping about my granddaughter?" Ryuzaki-sensei demanded as she looked down at Horio.

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Everyone stared at Fuji then went over to Inui to look at the faces on Fuji's phone. Nothing was said until-

"Mada mada dane."

Everyone whipped their heads to look at Ryoma who was adjusting his cap. "That girl needs to be put into a cage until she's forty."

"Fsssh," Kaidoh hissed as he shook his head and glared at the younger boy.

"Is that all you can say?" Momo growled as he ground his knuckles into the younger boy's temples. "How can you get a girlfriend with an attitude like that? Even the Mamushi is angry with you!"

"Ittai!" Ryoma winced as he tried to get away from Momo-sempai.

Tezuka ignored them to look at the Seigaku data man. "How soon can you find them, Inui?"

"Are we going in force?" Oishi asked as he looked at Tezuka. "Or are we going to register a complaint to the school?"

"I think we should do something," Kawamura said as he looked at Oishi. The memory of the little Ryuzaki's happy smile as she presented him with her strawberry shortcake and gingerbread Seigaku team flashed through his mind and he grew angry. He punched his fist into his palm. "And it should be as Fuji said- they should be taken cared of. They shouldn't do this to girls as nice as Sakuno-chan."

"Ohh- Taka-san is burning with out his racket," Kikumaru goggled as he looked at his classmate. "Inui! How soon can you know, nyah?"

Inui's glasses gleamed as he looked at Fuji. "I should know by Monday afternoon who they are."

"You should know who by Monday?" Ryuzaki asked as she came up to them. "Why are you all just standing here letting your bodies cool down?"

"Ah, sensei! We- we were just discussing some plans about our matches," Oishi stammered as he looked at her and smiled weakly.

Not trusting Oishi when he stammered like that, Ryuzaki narrowed her eyes. "What plans about the matches?"

"Plans about how to deal with our opponents," Tezuka answered. "Some new information has become available to us."

"Yes, and Inui wishes to verify the information," Fuji offered with a smile.

"And I was wondering if I could have practice off tomorrow," Inui smiled as his glasses gleamed. "I would like to do some research on our opponents."

Ryuzaki looked at them shrewdly. "And it takes all of you to devise a strategy?"

"It is rather some disturbing information that I have come across, sensei," Inui said blandly.

Ryuzaki frowned, "I see. And you wish to go to-?"

"I wish to go to be sure of my data," Inui replied as he looked at her. "Then I can do some thing about the unsettling information has come to my attention."

Noticing that he never specifically mentioned where he was going and the deliberate vagueness of everyone's words, Ryuzaki sighed as she looked at the seemingly innocent faces of her tennis club. Finally, she nodded her head. "Very well- you may go and be sure of your data."

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"I'm home!" Ryuzaki called out as soon as she entered the house. She smiled as she heard the fast walk her granddaughter was doing.

"Welcome back Obaachan!" Sakuno chirped out as she popped into the foyer. "How was practice today?"

"It was uneventful," Ryuzaki said as she smiled at her granddaughter. "And how was yours? Did anything happen? Did you have a hard time finding Haritatsu's?"

"Nothing exciting happened really and I was lost only once, Obaachan," Sakuno said brightly as she shook her head. "And I found a new hero, Obaachan. His name is Hiyoshi Wakashi and he beat up two guys- he was fast as Sai-chan, maybe faster."

Lifting her eyebrows, she looked at her granddaughter. "Care to tell me why your hero Hiyoshi Wakashi beat up two guys?"

As Sakuno related her story, her grandmother thought, 'Those boys just can't lie very well.'

-End.

**

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Author's note (3): I'm working as fast as I can….and just to let everyone know, like life, all randomness will tie in together some way, somehow. I just have to work on it to make it all fit. Now I'm off! Work to do, bills to pay…**


	8. Inui's Notes

**Author's Notes (1): Big sigh here… I'm supposed to be working but the idea took root in my head and would not let me do my work until I finished this. Anyway, this is the Tuesday right after the previous one-shot "An Uneventful Saturday." I'd like to tell you who it involves…. But nah! I'll let you figure it out on your own.**

**Author's Notes (2): No Japanese use in this one-shot. **

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Title: Inui's Notes

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Rubbing his head dry with the towel, Inui sighed as he entered his room and sat gingerly down on his chair. Feeling his legs and arms aching, he supposed that it was a good thing that his muscles were all sore. It just meant that he had worked really hard today. Thus in all things considered, it was a good thing. He eyes rested on the picture of his self and another boy with his brown hair cut in a page-boy style. Involuntarily, his hand reached for the picture and he studied it. He remembered being so happy to be with his best friend when they took the picture- they had just won the tennis championship for doubles the under age of 12 category. 

He closed his eyes and remembered a conversation from a happier time.

**

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FLASHBACK **

* * *

"_Renji, that was an exciting match, wasn't it?" he said as he looked at his friend._

_Picking up his bag, Renji Yanagi merely shrugged. "I suppose it was a good match, Sadaharu, but the percentage of them of winning against us was only-"_

"_Eighty-five percent with a five percent margin of error," he finished with a grin._

"_Actually, I calculated that it was eighty percent with a two percent margin of error," Renji grinned as he looked at his friend. "You were being too generous in your calculations again."_

_He merely shrugged. "You never know- one can never account for other factors that could influence one's game. Things such as-"_

"_Such as heart and determination," Renji finished as he looked at his friend then shook his head in mild amusement. "You, my friend, are an optimist. Sometimes I can't tell if you give them that leeway in hopes that they give you a good game."_

_He shrugged. "It's more fun if you have to fight for your victory than to have some opponent to just roll over and give it to you." He cocked his head, hearing his father calling him. "I have to go now, anyway, see you tomorrow at the courts? Eight o'clock sharp?"_

"_I'll be there," Renji promised as he heard his own father calling him. "Just work on your calculations again, Sadaharu. Do it just like I taught you and don't be so generous- heart and determination means nothing without the talent or honed skills to back them up."_

_He grinned. "But they do make for an interesting and honest game."_

**

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END FLASHBACK **

* * *

His thumb traced the young Renji's face and he smiled, "I've worked the calculations out Renji, just like you taught me how- and I've found that my calculations always work better when I give my opponents that extra margin for heart and determination. And when we meet in the Kanto Tournament, I'll give that margin as well, old friend." 

With that, he placed the picture back down and opened his infamous green data book and looked at the notes he had scribbled there during the day. Turning on his computer, he looked at the facts and figures that he had written…. then his glasses gleamed as he smiled as he started to sort out the amusing facts first.

He opened the fast growing file labeled: **RYUZAKI, SAKUNO**.

Scanning the page, he looked at the heading of General Information and mused at what he had first written there. _Granddaughter of Ryuzaki, Sumire (tennis team coach). Started first year at Seigaku, class 1-C. 151 cm, dominant hand right with a strong grip. Member of Seigaku Female Tennis club. Little coordination and needs to work on sense of balance when lower extremities are in fast motion. Higher than average intelligence according to test scores, often friendly and sweet natured with bursts of temper. **Oddity**: Has very good aim but at times lacks hand-eye coordination to make it effective. Rumor has it she is adept at keeping her balance when her feet are not touching the ground. **SPECIAL NOTE**: As ordered by Oishi, Syuichiroh (vice-captain) all regulars are obliged to watch over her if in vicinity. **Caution**: Extremely shy and prone to tears when upset. Has been known to defy probabilities of personal and public safety._

Sighing as he looked at the notes, he looked at the facts that he gathered:

_A) Has close and congenial relationship with her grandmother. Unknown about her relationships with other family members. (Note: Father is in Brazil on business, unknown what occupation.)_

_B) Seems slightly popular with fellow classmates, however, unaware of her popularity. (Note: Due to extreme shyness?)_

_C) Has a close friendship with Osakada, Tomoko, the self-proclaimed President of the Ryoma Echizen Fan Club. Gets along with the Freshmen Trio and often volunteers to help with their duties._

_D) Had a crush on Echizen when first started school but status of this is unknown (Probability of crush diminishment: 40.2)_

_E) Has close relationship with Fuji, Yuuta (known as Yuuta-oniisan) and in private, calls Fuji 'Syusuke-oniisan'.( Note: Unknown if calls eldest Fuji sibling 'Yumiko-oneesan')_

_F) Has growing relationship with Kawamura, Takashi (called Taka-san while in private) and congenial relationship with Kawamura's parents. (Note: Mother extremely favors Ryuzaki as a possible girlfriend for Taka-san)_

_G) Currently has a hero worship of Fuji, Yuuta and provides him with homemade bento and snacks at every possible time. (Note: Probability of relationship change from brotherly/sisterly to a romantic nature is rated at 70.8)_

_H) Does not provide him Echizen homemade bento but does provide him with bought bento and snacks during Sunday mid-afternoon lessons. (Note: probability of her still embarrassed about her bento incident with Echizen rated at 78)_

_I) Apparently a very good baker and adept in creating garnishes (Note: has yet to try cooking, probability of her being a good chef rated at 62.3)_

Then he looked at the observations he gathered:

_A) Nickname by grandmother: Sa-chan_

_B) Most likely kissed Echizen while he was sleeping under sakura (probability 92)_

_C) People that call her 'Sakuno-chan' or other forms of familiarity: Osakada, Tomoko; Fuji, Syusuke; Fuji, Yuuta; Kawamura, Takashi_

_D) Has an apparent fear of Yanagisawa of the St. Rudolph Tennis Club (Reason unknown)_

_E) Fuji seems very protective of her and is often disturbed to hear of her being distressed_

_F) In Seigaku, only Fuji and Echizen have tasted her cooking, both are unreliable sources due to taste buds and circumstances (Note: Rumor has it that her baking and cooking is in demand at St. Rudolph but unknown if because of natural talent or due to poor quality of food in cafeteria. Probability of her food tasty rated at 84.8)_

_G) Taka-san seems very protective of her_

Tapping a finger against his chin, he thought about the information regarding her and then immediately opened the file labeled, **ECHIZEN, RYOMA**.

Ignoring the information about the first year's tennis for the moment as well as his general information, he looked at the personal facts he knew about the young freshman regular.

_A) Has an immense appetite that is on par with Momoshiro, Takashi and has a high sense of competition in all fields_

_B) Appears to have a keen understanding of psychological competition and strong facial muscles (his facial control is on par with Tezuka) _

_C) Has habit of verbally egging on a person to get his desired results_

_D) Has habit of ignoring anything that does not fall in lines of interest or competition (Interest: Tennis, Ponta, sports competition. Rumor has it that has a family pet Himalayan cat that holds his interest)_

_E) No apparent close friendships other than those in the tennis club and the Freshman Trio, though he is admired by many in his grade (probability of friends other than in tennis club rated at 48.2)_

_F) Has an active fan club base of 2: Osakada, Tomoko (class 1-C) and Ryuzaki, Sakuno; has an inactive fan base of 25 not including the two and the Freshmen Trio (Note: Unknown if the inactive fan base are there due to his tennis or his looks)_

_G) Is currently ignoring the fact that Ryuzaki most likely kissed him while under sakura sleeping_

_H) Has an innate sense of justice and righteousness and uses his tennis to correct wrongs, as dubbed by Ryuzaki, his Tennis of Righteousness_

Then he looked at the observations he listed under the boy.

_A) Does not appear to be interested in the opposite gender nor those of the same gender unless individual falls into the categories of main interest then interest is lost when the competition is over_

_B) Apparently passive when dealing with the opposite gender (Probability of ignoring a female that does not fall into areas of interest 86.9)_

_C) Appeared to be disturbed when Ryuzaki supposedly kissed him (92) under the sakura tree while lying there (Note: Unknown if he was entirely awake, probability 89.8)_

_C) Has a protective nature towards Ryuzaki (Note: unknown whether due to Oishi's order for the regulars to watch over her or due to an affection towards her. Probability of Oishi's order rated at 68.9 56.3)_

After thinking about what had progressed the past two days, Inui steepled his hands together and closed his eyes to try and sort out all his observations.

**

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FLASHBACK **

* * *

"_So, Inui, what did you find out so far?" Fuji asked as he sat by him. He noted that the other regulars, with the exception of Echizen, were all paying him rapt attention._

_Opening his book, he flipped it to a page that had a blown up picture of the two boys. "The boy on the right- his name is Watanabe, Genji and on the left is Takayama, Kenchiro. They are second year classmen students at Kakinoki Junior High, both in class 2A. Both are in the yearbook committee as part of the photography section as well as the science club. Both had tried out for the tennis club but dropped out of it after a year."_

_Kikumaru frowned as he looked at them. "They look pretty normal for a couple of perverts."_

"_Do you have any other information about them?" Tezuka asked with a frown._

"_They like to hang out at the local coffee shops and parks to take pictures," he said as he scanned his notes. "And they are quite known around the school for taking pictures for the school paper."_

_Kaidoh hissed his displeasure as Fuji looked thoughtful._

"_So what should we do?" Oishi asked as he looked at Tezuka. "Challenging them to anything athletic doesn't seem to be an answer."_

"_It would make us look bad if tried to confront them," Kawamura said as he shook his head. _

"_Damn! They would be science perverts," Momo cursed. "We can't hurt them if they can't defend themselves. It wouldn't be fair."_

"_Maybe you can't, but I can," Fuji smiled angelically as he took out his camera from his bag. His eyes shined brightly as he looked at his teammates. "I just need you guys to help me corral the perverts so I can take their pictures."_

_Everyone looked at Fuji and shivered. Oishi cleared his throat, "Ah, Fuji. What do you plan to do to them?"_

_Fuji looked at Oishi innocently. "I just want to teach them how wrong it is to do what they're doing, Oishi. Nothing more."_

_Everyone was silent again until Echizen walked away and shrugged saying, "Mada mada dane."_

_Sighing, Tezuka looked up at the ceiling and asked, "I take it you know their schedule, Inui?"_

_

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"_This is the stop right here," he said as he rang the bus bell. As the Seigaku members came off the bus, all wearing their school uniforms, he noticed another group of students coming towards the entrance of the school. "Fuji- I think that your little brother-"_

"_Yuuta! Isn't that your brother and Seigaku there?" shouted out Yanagisawa as they came closer. "Hey! Why are you here?"_

"_Aniki! What are you doing here?" Yuuta called out as he approached his brother. He narrowed his eyes. "What are you planning to do here?"_

"_Yuuta! What a coincidence to see you here! Are you here for some fresh air?" Fuji smiled as he saw his little brother. _

"_We're probably here the same reason you're here," Mizuki interrupted as he twirled a finger around his lock of hair. "We're here to make sure these perverts pay for what they-" _

"_You really shouldn't be here, Yuuta," Fuji scolded lightly as he looked at his brother. "Don't you have a test to study for?"_

"_This shouldn't take a lot of time," Yuuta said as he looked at his brother._

"_In fact, I estimate it should take us no time at all," Mizuki interrupted._

"_I really think that you should go home," Fuji said, ignoring Mizuki._

_Feeling the tension between the two, Oishi tried to step in. "Do you really think we should discus this here? Right now?"_

_Fuji smiled sweetly at his brother. "We won't have anything to discuss this if Yuuta believes he should go and study for his test."_

"_And I really believe that I should stay, Aniki," Yuuta said stubbornly ignoring his brother's veiled order. "After all, who knows what might happen?"_

"_I think we should get this done and over with soon before we all get into trouble, da-ne," Atsushi announced as he eyed the two brothers._

"_Yeah, we have to take care of those perverts, da-ne," Yanagisawa seconded as he looked at the older and younger Fuji warily. "They should be taught that they shouldn't be messing around with Yuuta's girlfriend, da-ne. OW!"_

"_How many times do I have to tell you that she's not my girlfriend, sempai," Yuuta growled as he ground his knuckles into his sempai's head. "She's my little sister!"_

_Akazawa shook his head in exasperation. "I don't believe this- I knew there were too many of us." He eyed Tezuka. "Should we have a match to see who should teach these guys a lesson?"_

"_There's no match to decide," Kaidoh hissed as he looked at the St. Rudolph team captain. "She's our coach's granddaughter and she goes to Seigaku. We take care of our kohai."_

_Everyone turned to look at Kaidoh who was glaring at the St. Rudolph team. Momo let out a chuckle. "And when the Mamushi hisses, you should listen." _

"_Sorry, all I heard was a fangless viper hissing," Yuuta gave a razor-thin smile of his own. "With the exception of Aniki, I say that you guys should leave- kohai or not, outside of your school, Sakuno-chan looks up to me and I'm responsible for her. I won't have it said that a Fuji doesn't take care of his own."_

"_And I'll help you, Yuuta-kun," Mizuki said as he gave a thin smile. "I won't have it be said that I don't help my kohai when he needs it."_

_Fuji looked at him and frowned. "And who are you again?"_

_Mizuki turned to scowl at Yuuta's older brother. "I'm MIZUKI! MI-ZU-KI!"_

"_I've taken care of her outside of school and I think that should stay, Fuji-kun," Kawamura said as he stepped up to look at Yuuta. "Her family knows mine. And my mother would never forgive me if I let those perverts get away with what they tried to do."_

_As the two had a staring contest, Echizen shook his head and started to enter the school. "Mada mada dane. Urk!"_

"_And where do you think you're going?" Momo scowled as he held on to Echizen's collar. Kaidoh hissed his displeasure with the boy._

"_Inside where the perverts are," Echizen said as he looked at Momo. "For all we know, they could have gone home with all this arguing."_

_Alarmed by the thought, the two brothers looked at each other and started to go into the school campus as Momo let Echizen go._

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After wandering around the busy school grounds for twenty minutes, Fuji frowned as he looked at his classmate. "Inui, I thought you said that they would be here." _

_He looked at his notebook. "They should be here- they have club right now."_

"_Why don't we just ask someone if they know where they are." Oishi said as he looked for a friendly face. Spying a boy and girl walking by together, he stopped them and showed them the picture. "Excuse me, miss, we're looking for a couple of guys- Watanabe, Genji and Takayama, Kenchiro. Have you seen them?"_

_The boy shoved the girl behind him as he eyed Oishi hostilely. "And what do you want to do with those perverts? Are you friends of theirs?"_

_Oishi blinked. "Why no- we're here on behalf of a girl we know."_

_The girl came around the boy and smiled triumphantly at Oishi. "Then you missed all the action. They're not here right now- they just finished their punishment and they won't be back. I heard that they were transferring schools."_

"_Can you tell us what happened?" Tezuka asked as he looked at the girl and boy._

_The girl looked at the boy who shrugged and then continued with the story. "I'm not so sure of the details- but when we came to school yesterday morning, there were these pictures of them on the school gates. It showed them taking turns using their camera phone on unsuspecting girls. You do know why they used their phones, right?"_

"_We know," Yuuta said grimly. 'That's why we're here."_

"_So then what happened?" Fuji asked as he looked at the girl and smiled at her._

_The girl's eyes went wide as she looked at the guys behind Fuji. Shaking her head, she smiled at him. "Anyway, everyone cornered them as soon as they came to school and they were pinned at the gates and were denying everything until a kid- I think he was an entering freshman, bumped into them while trying to get into the school. Well, he somehow dislodged Watanabe's cell phone and he picked it up thinking it was his. And when he was checking it, he shouted and wanted to know why there were panty shots on the phone!"_

"_Then the teachers came and there was a whole meeting, parents were called in and everything! And it was decided that they would be punished before being allowed to transferred to another school," the boy smirked. "They had to clean all the lockers, bathrooms and all the windows and rooms of the school. I think they just went home now and they are under some sort of police protection- someone said that they emailed their pics to the other schools. We've been getting a lot of visitors from other schools today."_

"_So they definitely went home," Yuuta frowned. "Without really paying for what they've done."_

"_I wouldn't say that," the boy drawled. "Whoever said that the females were the weaker sex might have been right if he were talking about them physically- but let me tell you, there's nothing wrong with the minds of females when it comes to righteous revenge."_

_Akazawa frowned as he looked at the boy. "Righteous revenge? What did the girls do?"_

_The girl nodded and smiled thinly. "A few girls of the school decided to give them the underwear they wanted- they took all the boys' old jock straps and wrapped it around their heads after soaking them with itching powder. Then the some girls grabbed their clothes and left them to wear girls' shorts for PE."_

"_Whoa," Momo whistled as he looked at the couple with wide eyes while Kaidoh simply hissed. _

"_Echizen, da-ne! What's a matter with you?" Yanagisawa shouted as he rubbed his head. "You're not usually clumsy like this are you?"_

_Mizuki blinked as he looked at the four boys that just arrived. "What's going on? And why does Shinya have a huge purple stain on his shirt?"_

_Looking at the annoyed Yanagisawa and at Echizen, Atsushi simply shrugged. "Shinya keeps getting hurt by Echizen who is extraordinarily clumsy today. He tripped and spilled his drink of Shinya and then when he got some candy bar, the bar somehow slipped from his hands and hit Shinya on the head."_

"_Echizen is clumsy today?" Yuuta blinked as he looked at Echizen._

"_Since when does Ochibi eat candy bars?" Kikumaru frowned as he looked at Oishi puzzled. "He hates sweets."_

"_I like them occasionally," Echizen replied as he bit into his candy bar. "They have their uses."_

* * *

END FLASHBACK

* * *

Inui opened his eyes and entered a few more notes in the appropriate places. 

**Hypothesis 1: Echizen has a passive-aggressive personality towards any speculation of Ryuzaki's romantic relationships.**

**Proof 1:** Horio was constantly hit with Echizen's tennis balls at practice when he questioned if she had a boyfriend.

**Proof 2:** Horio gets hit with Echizen's jacket when he mentions possibility of Ryuzaki having a romantic relationship with Fuji, Yuuta.

**Proof 3: **As heard from Kachiro and Katsuo's conversation on Saturday, Yukimura had books fallen on him when he mentioned the attractiveness of Ryuzaki and Kuwabara was hit with a tennis ball during practice.

**Proof 4: **Yanagisawa had soda spilt on him and was hit on the head by a candy bar. He had called Ryuzaki Yuuta's girlfriend.

**Conclusion:** **Echizen has a developing interest in Ryuzaki but does not have the emotional maturity to deal with it directly. Ergo, he aggressively disagrees with the questions and postulations that she is dating by using passive attacks**.

**Notation:** Probability that Echizen is the unknown freshman is rated at 85.7 percent.

**Support: **See conclusion to Hypothesis.

Scratching his head, Inui added some more side notes:

**Fact A:** Yuuta Fuji regards Ryuzaki as his sister, no romantic relationship seen as of yet.

**Observation A:** Echizen had a pleased look at Yuuta's vehement denial of her being his having a romantic relationship with the girl.

**Fact B:** Echizen is not pleased with the possible relationship developing between Kawamura/Ryuzaki and Fuji/Ryuzaki.

**Observation B:** Echizen unconsciously watches Ryuzaki closely whenever she interacts with either of them.

**Fact C:** Echizen is becoming obsessed over Ryuzaki's lack of homemade bento for him.

**Observation C: **Echizen is displeased over the presentation of bought bento by Ryuzaki and has mentioned (2x in school and 8x in a roundabout manner during tennis lessons in the park) his appreciation for homemade bento and good chawamushi.

**Conclusions of Facts A, B, C: Echizen likes Ryuzaki but is unaware of it. (Note: Probability of Echizen realizing he likes Ryuzaki within the next month: 10.95; before the Nationals: 6.87)**

Inui frowned as he looked at the screen and impishly wrote: Probability that one would have to figuratively hit Echizen with a tennis ball to make him realize he likes Ryuzaki: 100

"And that would make it all priceless, neh, Renji?" Inui snickered as he started to erase his whimsical sentence. Then he grinned as thought about it again and retyped and saved it.

Stretching his arms to the ceiling, Inui let out a loud yawn. As he settled down, his felt his blood pumping faster as he closed his opened files and started to read the data he had to update. "And now for the real fun."

-End.

**

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Author's Notes (3): And now for real, I've gotta get to work. **


	9. Desperate for Ryuzaki

**Author's Notes (1): Still takes place before the Hyotei arch. (I think they had a month of practice before they met.)**

**Author's Notes (2): My Japanese still sucks and if I used the words 'Kaasan', 'baka' and 'gomen' wrong, please let me know. **

**Author's Notes (3): These are basically summer dishes that I found in my recipe books. banbanji: chilled chicken and cucumber salad; Suisho dofu: chilled tofu and aka hyayako (in Eng. Trans. crystal tofu); Zaru soba: chilled soba noodles with nori. **

**Author's Notes (4): def. aojiso is the green perilla plant( 'geh-nip' for Korean-English speakers) or beefsteak plant (for those who live in North America) and akajiso is the purple perilla plant. I know that the green leaves have a strong flavor and are tasty, which fits in to Fuji's taste buds. Though it has a variety of uses in Asian cuisines, I have no idea on how often it is used in Japanese cuisine. I only know how often Koreans like to eat, which is quite often. Anyway, I just needed an extra plant and I knew that one would be ready by early to midsummer. **

**

* * *

Title: Desperate for Ryuzaki ****

* * *

Time: Saturday afternoon **

Yuuta's eyebrow twitched as he crossed his arms. "No."

Kaneda looked at Yuuta- seriously annoyed. "Yuuta, if you don't call her, we're seriously going to be in trouble."

"I will not call her," Yuuta said stubbornly as he crossed his arms. "We can do it ourselves. We don't need her help. Besides, it's a St. Rudolph event, not a Seigaku and St. Rudolph event."

"I think that we do need her help, da-ne," Yanagisawa Shinya said in exasperation as he looked at his stubborn kohai. "It's a freaking food station we have to make, da-ne! Do you think that any of us really know how to cook, da-ne? We're guys and we suck at it, da-ne! If you won't do it for yourself, then at least do it for the team, da-ne."

"We don't need her help, sempai," Yuuta said mulishly as he glared at Yanagisawa. "And how is having her do all the baking considered me doing something for the team, sempai?"

"Because you're making the phone call for the team, da-ne," Yanagisawa yelled in exasperation. "You know that I would call her and ask her myself if only I had her number, da-ne."

"And if Ryuzaki-chan weren't so scared of you, Shinya," Kisarazu Atsushi added as he looked at his doubles partner ironically.

Yanagisawa glared at his partner. "Atsushi, you know that she's just scared of my handsome looks, da-ne."

"Right, Shinya," Akawaza said wryly as he stepped into the club room. "You keep thinking that." He continued before looking at Yuuta Fuji. "You don't have to call her- we still have a week before the mini-bazaar. We'll think of something to sell and make money for the club. Right, Hajime?"

"As you wish, Akawaza," Mizuki said as he twirled a lock of his black hair. "Though I must say- if we had any of Ryuzaki-chan's food stuff, we could make a load of money for the club."

"The purpose of the mini-bazaar is to do it ourselves and not have someone else do it for us, Mizuki-sempai," Yuuta rolled his eyes as he rose to gather his things. "If this meeting is over, I'm going to my dorm and then heading home."

Yanagisawa shrugged in defeat. "Might as well since there's nothing else to discuss- I'll ride the train with you, da-ne. You coming, Hajime, da-ne?"

"I'll be there," Mizuki said as he gathered up his tennis gear.

* * *

Prince

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Yuuta sighed as he threw down his tennis gear and weekend bags. "I'm home!" 

"Ah, Yuuta! Welcome home," called out a voice from the kitchen. His older sister's head popped out from the entrance. "Dinner will be ready in an hour- you have time to take a bath. And don't leave your stuff in the foyer."

"Hai, hai, but I'm thirsty and I want a drink first, Neesan," Yuuta said as he entered the kitchen and made a beeline towards the refrigerator and grabbed a cold juice from it. After taking a swig, he sniffed the air and felt his stomach start growling the tempting aromas that floated around. He snatched a handful of shredded carrots and popped it in his mouth before asking, "So, what are we having tonight, Neesan? And where's Kaasan?"

Looking over her shoulder, Yumiko smiled as she continued to shred chicken for the dinner. Without missing a beat, she slapped Yuuta's hand as he started to reach for the chicken. "Kaasan is at her monthly dinner meeting with her friends and we're having banbanji, suisho dofu, zaru soba and miso. Go wash up and don't forget-"

"To put away my gear," Yuuta finished for her as made another attempt at the chicken. "Ittai!"

"I'm home! Yuuta, you left your tennis gear in the foyer again," Syusuke called out before he entered the kitchen. "I'm taking it to your room before I head into the bath-"

"I got the bath first, Aniki!" Yuuta called out as he ran out of the kitchen and after his brother.

"It never fails," Yumiko winced as she heard the starting of an argument.

"But you were in the kitchen and you didn't put away your gear, Yuuta- so that means I get to have the bath first-"

"I was going to put it away but I needed a drink first and I got hungry! I want the bath first-"

"But you still have to put away your gear and unpack and while you're doing that I can take a quick bath-"

"Your quick baths take at least thirty minutes, Aniki! And you use up most of the hot water!"

"You take just as long, Yuuta! And-"

Having enough, Yumiko called out, "And if you continue to argue, I'm going to take the food I made and throw it out!"

After hearing silence for a few seconds, her eyebrow twitched when she heard, "Did Neesan burn dinner again?"

"The chicken didn't taste burned-"

"Then did it taste strange?"

"You mean other than over salting like the last time? Or her making it really sour when it was supposed to be sweet?"

"No, I mean like her making it bitter like the last time-"

"Syusuke! Yuuta!"

* * *

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"Baka, Aniki," Yuuta said as he stared miserably at the untouched plates of food in front of him. 

"Gomen, Yuuta," Syusuke said as his stomach growled from hunger.

Yumiko said nothing as she ignored the two and loudly slurped up her noodles. She bit the inside of her lip to prevent herself from laughing at their matching miserable miens. Her imagination allowed her to see the large cross bandages on their heads where she rapped them. She used her chopsticks to take some more chicken and cucumbers and put it on her plate. Giving the boys a stern look, she demanded, "So what did we learn?"

"We don't argue with each other," Syusuke said quickly with a hopeful smile.

"You put away your things as soon as you walk into the house," Yuuta said just as quickly and with a hopeful smile on his lips.

Yumiko lifted her eyebrow. "And?"

"We don't ever make fun of Neesan's cooking," the two answered in unison.

"That's right you don't," Yumiko said as she looked at her younger brothers sternly. "Now you may eat."

"Thank you for the food!" they cried out before they descended on their plates like the couple of hungry boys that they were.

Yumiko watched with amusement as the two brothers piled on more food. "So anything interesting happen to either of you today? Syusuke? Yuuta?"

"Nothing really, Neesan," Yuuta shrugged as he stopped eating long enough to answer. "I just walked Sakuno-chan home at the request of her grandmother then I stayed to help her a bit with her garden. She said that she can give you some of her green onions, red lettuce, akajiso and aojiso leaves if you want them. The tomatoes are still green and the cucumbers, Kirby pickles and green peas are only starting to come out. And if Aniki wants, she can give you her young chili peppers and radishes by next week."

"Are they ready already?" Syusuke asked as he clicked his chopsticks thoughtfully. Then he deftly went after the piece of chicken that Yuuta was aiming for. "I'll tell her on Monday that I'll take a few."

"I wanted that piece, Aniki," Yuuta glared at his brother as he popped it into his mouth.

"I saw it first, besides, you need more vegetables, you've been only eating the chicken and not the vegetables," Syusuke said as he munched on the piece of chicken. He was about to get another piece when Yuuta's chopsticks intercepted him. His eyes narrowed as Yuuta popped that piece into his mouth. "That was mine."

"I saw it first," Yuuta mimicked as he munched on the chicken. "And you've been eating more of the chicken than I have, Aniki."

As the two brothers glared at each other over the table, both poised their chopsticks to get the next piece of chicken first.

"Syusuke, please stop teasing Yuuta. Yuuta, there are other pieces of chicken," Yumiko said as she sipped her tea and gave them a hard look. "It sounds like her garden is coming along nicely, so how is she? I didn't know you were giving her lessons to today."

At the silent threat, the brothers slid a look at their sister then mutually declared a truce with Syusuke putting down his chopsticks and Yuuta going after a cucumber. After all, neither boy wanted to know what else she could to them.

"He wasn't- he just walked her home because Sumire-chan was almost a wreak today," Syusuke answered as he sipped his tea. "Sakuno-chan went to the racket stringer's by herself."

Well aware of Sakuno Ryuzaki's positive points as well as her negative ones, Yumiko winced. "And she got lost, didn't she?"

"That was the least of what happened to her," Syusuke said with a wry smile as his blue eyes opened and glared at his food.

"She almost had a phone-camera up her skirt," Yuuta growled as he clenched his chopsticks. "She was lucky that Hiyoshi guy was there- even if he is from Hyotei."

"Yes, she was very lucky," Syusuke said as he took another sip of tea. "And come Monday, those boys-"

"Will soon be very unlucky," Yuuta said as clicked his chopsticks then stopped as he looked at his brother. "What did you just say, Aniki?"

"I didn't say anything, Yuuta," Syusuke said as he put his tea down and looked at Yuuta. "But I heard you say something. Are you planning anything?"

"Like what, Aniki?" Yuuta asked as he looked at his brother. And knowing his brother's protective streak, Yuuta had to ask, "Are you planning anything, Aniki?"

"I'm always planning something, Yuuta," Syusuke said sweetly. "But nothing comes to mind right now."

Not trusting his brother, Yuuta lifted his eyebrow. "You're not planning anything really sadistic and harmful are you, Aniki? Because you really shouldn't, considering that you're about to go into high school."

Syusuke looked at Yuuta innocently as his face held a hurt look. "And why do you think I'm planning so sadistic or harmful?"

Used to his brother's ways of manipulation, Yuuta narrowed his eyes. "Because I know you, Aniki. And let me tell you right now, it won't be good if you do anything bad to those perverts from Kakinoki."

"Oh really?" Syusuke said as he lifted an eyebrow. "And I suppose that if you plan something it'll be all right because you're not about to go to high school?"

"That's actually a good supposition, Aniki," Yuuta said brightly. "How about you-"

"Too bad it's not going to happen," Syusuke said brightly as he interrupted Yuuta and smiled.

Looking at her younger brothers as they volleyed their words around, Yumiko sighed. She was well aware of the strong protective streak that the two had for the little girl, especially Yuuta. He had changed much in these last two years and had grown more confident, but the basics of his personality had not.

He was still a sensitive boy who looked up to his older brother and occasionally considered himself a self-appointed protector of the defenseless. She had no doubt that though he still aimed to beat Syusuke with his style of tennis, he had gotten over most of the resentment over his being labeled as 'Fuji's Little Brother' and not as Fuji Yuuta.

Her lips quirked as she looked at Yuuta- he resented being called 'Fuji's Little Brother' but he had no problem's being called 'Sakuno-chan's Oniisan' or as Syusuke teases him, 'Real Hero Yuuta'. 'It was amazing at what a little adoration from a little girl could do' she thought as she let out a chuckle.

"Is there anything funny, Neesan?" Syusuke asked as he looked at his sister.

Yuuta rammed his hands in his pockets. "Ah- Neesan's just spacing out again, Aniki."

"I am not spacing out," Yumiko said with some mild indignation as she shook her head slightly. "And I was thinking about nothing really." She gave her brothers a hard look. "Just let me tell you, if I have to bail you two out for anything- you two owe me cleaning duties for the next three months. Are we clear?"

"Hai," Syusuke and Yuuta said in unison.

"Good," Yumiko said with satisfaction. "By the way Yuuta- I got a strange call from someone before you came home- He wanted me to either know or bake or buy some cookies for your booth this Friday. What's that all about?"

"Tennis club is in charge of a food booth for the mini-bazaar," Yuuta said with a frown. "What did he sound like?"

Yumiko looked at Yuuta helplessly. "I couldn't understand what he was saying since he sounded like a duck."

"Oh, that was Yanagisawa-sempai," Yuuta said dismissively. "And you don't have to cook anything- just leave it all to me. I'll make something."

Syusuke frowned as his eyes glinted with humor. "I don't think that burned okonomiyaki or bitter cookies counts as food, Yuuta."

"Shut up, Aniki," Yuuta muttered as his cheeks blushed.

* * *

Prince

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Prince

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**

* * *

Time: Sunday Afternoon **

"Are you sure that you want to do this, da-ne?" Yanagisawa Shinya asked as he looked at Mizuki Hajime a bit doubtfully as they crossed the street. "Do you know how to even bake, da-ne?"

His partner, Atsushi Kisarazu cleared his throat. "He should know how to bake since he was the one that suggested it, Shinya."

"I don't get it, da-ne! Why not just ask Ryuzaki-chan to make something, da-ne?" Yanagisawa demanded as he looked at Mizuki hopefully. "She'd do it if you asked Yuuta to ask her, da-ne."

"I know that," Mizuki chuckled as he twirled a lock of his hair. "I was there remember? But we can't ask Yuuta to that because Yuuta is very protective of Ryuzaki-chan and if we went behind his back to ask her- well, the consequences would be horrific for the St. Rudolph team. So it seems that he is determined that we are the ones that must make something for our booth. After all, what happened after you called his house?"

"He called you to tell me to back off, da-ne," Yanagisawa sighed as he shook his head.

Mizuki gave Yanagisawa an annoyed look. "Yes, he did. And my eternal rival, Fuji Syusuke just had to add his two cents worth by saying that a manager who doesn't know how to make delicious and nutritious food like Inui Sadaharu for his team is not a real manager at all."

Kisarazu looked puzzled. "Didn't you say that when Seigaku drinks or eats Inui's things they fall down like flies? How can that be delicious?"

"But they are also more energetic because of it and that is what the manager of a team must strive for!" Mizuki grinned manically as he looked at Kisarazu. "So therefore we must strive up to be the best manager that there is to match the expectations of my eternal rival, Fuji Syusuke! And to do that- we must go into a kitchen and make something for the damned booth!"

Kisarazu shook his head slowly. "There's something wrong with that logic, Hajime."

Yanagisawa shook his head violently. "There is no way that you're going to make me step foot in a kitchen, da-ne! The Home Ec teacher tried to kill me just because I was trying to cook my egg, da-ne!"

"Who wouldn't try to kill you after what you did, Shinya?" Kisarazu retorted as he looked at his doubles partner. "You nuked an egg! While it was still in its shell! And because of that, the door of the microwave blew off!"

"Indeed, even I know better than to put an uncracked egg in the microwave," Mizuki snorted as he twirled his hair and looked at his friend speculatively. "Did you finish paying for the microwave, Shinya?"

"Put in the last payment last week," Yanagisawa said happily as the trio entered the super market. "Now whatever I get it's all mine, da-ne."

"I still can't believe that happened." Kisarazu shook his head as he remembered the chaos that happened. "Anyway, what are we going to make?"

As Kisarazu picked up a basket, Mizuki twirled a lock of his hair. "I did some research on some of the easier recipes- cookies seem to be the easiest things to make, along with cakes."

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Prince

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Kisarazu scratched his head as he looked at the tray of cookies. "Well, they look all right." 

"And they're not burnt, da-ne," Yanagisawa said as he looked at them closely. He sniffed them carefully. "And they smell all right, da-ne."

"So are you going to try it or stare at it?" Mizuki frowned as he looked at Yanagisawa and held up a cookie. "Or would you like to be the first to try my special tennis endurance workout first?"

Paling at the thought of being a guinea pig, Yanagisawa glanced at the mountain of inedible cookies before his trembling hand reached for the cookie.

"I'll let Atsushi try it first, da-ne," he announced as he shoved the cookie at his doubles partner. He smiled brightly, "After all he's the connoisseur of food, da-ne."

Not one to take a threat lying down, Atsushi Kisarazu took a cookie and shoved it into Yanagisawa's hand. "But I think as partners we should share the experience, Shinya."

Feeling a vein popping in his forehead, Mizuki grabbed a cookie and looked brightly at Kisarazu and Yanagisawa. "Well, shall we try these? And to prove that I am a decent baker, I will have one myself."

Each boy looked at each other then at the cookies they held in their hands. Taking a deep breath, Mizuki announced, "On the count of three- One- three!"

All three boys ate the cookies and smiled as nothing happened to them.

A bird flew into the evening air as the city noises stirred it from its perch….

* * *

Prince

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* * *

"Hey- Hajime! You around here?" called out a sweet voice of a girl as she walked into the house. "I'm home- what's this burnt smell?" 

Fearing that there might be something burning in the oven, the girl screamed as she saw three boys lying on the kitchen floor unconscious. "Hajime! What happened?"

* * *

Prince

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Prince

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**

* * *

Time: Monday morning **

"My head still hurts," Kisarazu groaned as he rubbed the bump on his forehead. "Damn Hajime and his cookies. And my tongue still feels numb."

"I knew it all along, da-ne," Yanagisawa said as he looked at the sky. "I knew that he couldn't bake, da-ne. What boy can if his sisters burn water, da-ne? If we can't come up with something decent, we are going to be dead for our booth, da-ne. All because Yuuta won't call Ryuzaki-chan to help us, da-ne!"

"So what can we do?" Kisarazu wondered as he twirled his tennis racket. "Should go off and buy some cakes from the bakeries?"

"No! We have to get Ryuzaki-chan to help us, da-ne," Yanagisawa announced as he looked at his partner with an almost fanatical gleam in his eye. "There has to be away, da-ne."

"The only way to do it is to ask her directly and we don't even know where she lives nor have her number to call," Kisarazu said flatly.

"But Yuuta does, da-ne!" Yanagisawa said as he thought about it. "We could lift his cell phone and then-"

"Get beaten for it within an inch of our lives," Kisarazu said flatly. "No thank you."

"And if you even tried to do that, it's called stealing Shinya," Mizuki said as he popped up from behind Kisarazu.

"Hajime! You nearly gave me a heart attack, da-ne!" Yanagisawa yelled. "Don't do that, da-ne!"

Smirking, Mizuki simply shrugged. "You are aware that there is an easier way than to filch Yuuta-kun's cell phone, no?"

Yanagisawa glared at Mizuki. "Such as, da-ne?"

"Such as just going to Seigaku? Or even being at the lessons that Yuuta is giving her?" Mizuki suggested. "Those would be easier than to steal his phone-" Just then his own cell phone rang. "Excuse me, mushi-mushi, Mizuki. Ah! Give me some good news please!"

As Mizuki answered it, Yanagisawa sighed, "I guess we'll do it the easy way then, da-ne. We'll follow Yuuta to where he's teaching Ryuzaki-chan and ask her there."

"But if we do that with him there, he'll be upset with us," Kisarazu frowned. "Wouldn't it be better if we simply go to Seigaku?"

"Oh man, this is giving me a headache, da-ne," Yanagisawa moaned. "When will we have the chance to get to Seigaku?"

"Well, it won't be soon," Mizuki said as he looked at his teammates. "I finally have the info that Yuuta wants."

"About the two perverts?" Kisarazu demanded as he looked at Mizuki. "So what's the word?"

"It seems that the best time to attack them would be tomorrow afternoon," Mizuki said as he scrolled down the information on his cell phone. He gave a very sly smile. "Just when they're at a joint meeting with the school photography club and the school paper tomorrow afternoon. Let me call Akazawa about this new development."

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"There is a slight problem before we can address that issue, Mizuki, Yuuta," Akazawa said as he looked at all the club members. He took a deep breath. "I just had a meeting with the school council and they told me that there had been a change in policy that was given to them by teacher's council just on Friday." 

"This does not sound good," Kaneda whispered as he looked at Yuuta.

"It is not good," Akazawa said as he looked at Kaneda. "Before, the monetary policy of the mini-bazaar was that whatever the booths made, they could kept ninety percent after expenses. The policy has been changed that the booths must now give twenty-five percent after expenses."

Mizuki stared at Akazawa as his mind did the math. "So that means that the clubs-"

"Must make at least thirty percent more than what they made last year," Akazawa said flatly. There was a collective groan that went around the room. "And since most of cannot cook for the life of us- we must think of other ways to make food or at least buy it at a cost where we can make a profit."

As Nomura and Yanagisawa lifted their hands, Akazawa lifted his own. "And if anyone says that we should somehow get Ryuzaki-chan to cook for us, then I will personally make sure that you will do at least 100 sit-ups, push-ups, laps and side-to-sides each for the next week. Any other questions or suggestions? No? Then everyone is dismissed and go think of some ideas but the Regulars must stay behind for now."

"I can't believe this," Yanagisawa groaned as he looked at his doubles as he looked at him. He looked at the team captain. "Can you at least explain why we can't ask her?"

"Because if you ask Sakuno-chan to cook, sempai, I will personally make sure that I will never share whatever she makes for me every Tuesday," Yuuta threatened as he looked at Yanagisawa. "And that I will find a way to make sure that your life is miserable for the next week. She does not go to this school and she should not have stress from this school simply because she sees me as her Oniisan."

"And if that doesn't stop you, let it be known that I received a call from Fuji Syusuke," Akazawa said. "He has taken the liberty to inform me that Coach Ryuzaki has been informed of the dire straits we are in. And she, in turn, has told him that she would boil anyone from the St. Rudolph tennis team in oil after she eviscerates them."

"Oh, that's just great, da-ne," Yanagisawa moaned as he shook his head. "So now what are we supposed to do since we can't ask Yuuta's little girlfriend?"

Feeling a vein popping, Yuuta cracked his knuckles. "Sempai, I told you and I keep telling you- she's not my girlfriend!"

"Yeow!"

* * *

Prince

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Prince

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Tennis

**

* * *

Time: Tuesday Afternoon **

"Well, that was very interesting," Kisarazu said as all St. Rudolph tennis club members rode the bus. "Who would have thought that Seigaku would have shown up as well?"

Twirling a lock of his hair, Mizuki chuckled, "I should have suspected it from my destined nemesis, Fuji Syusuke. You did forward that picture to him on Saturday, when you were with us, did you not?"

"Ah- hai, you were there when I did, Mizuki-san," Yuuta said as he looked at the older boy.

"Hey, Yuuta- aren't you supposed to meet with Ryuzaki-chan for her lessons today?" Kisarazu asked as he looked at Yuuta.

Yuuta shook his head. "Nope, she had to cancel. Sakuno-chan said she was going with her obaachan to meet a friend of her father's at his dojo."

Yanagisawa blinked. "Ryuzaki-chan is going to learn karate?"

"According to her, she's going to learn some basic tai chi and yoga," Yuuta corrected as he shook his head. "To help her gain some balance."

"Will it work?" Yanagisawa asked aloud. "She's really very clumsy, da-ne. But then again, I haven't seen many scrapes on her hands and knees lately, da-ne."

"I hope it'll work," Yuuta said grimly. "Else I have to go out and buy more gloves and knee pads for her."

* * *

Prince

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**

* * *

Time: Tuesday Midnight **

The light was still shining brightly in the student lounge of the boy's dorm.

"I think I looked at this book already," Kaneda groaned as he shut the cook book in front of him. "Did anyone find anything we can mass produce?"

"Not a thing yet, Ichirou-kun," Mizuki said without looking up from his cook book. "Keep looking, please."

"This is not working," Yanagisawa moaned as he looked at the different cookbooks. "All I see is food that we can't make. Damn, I wish my mother wasn't off visiting my grandmother, da-ne."

"I think I'm hungry from reading about all this food," Kisarazu said as he closed another cook book. "This recipe reminds me of my mother's soup in Chiba."

"We could always buy the food from the local stores," Yuuta said as he opened another cook book. "And then resell it at a higher cost."

"But then it wouldn't be as cost effective and it would eat up most of our profits," Nomura said as he looked at the price list he had. "I compiled all the prices of the things we need to sell and even if we buy them, there is no guarantee that the boys of this school will buy them. And there's no guarantee that it'll all taste good."

"Watch it, Nomura, your Osaka taste buds are showing," Akawaza said as he closed a book. "Too bad my parents are on vacation- they're pretty decent cooks."

"You're lucky, sempai," Kaneda snorted. "My mother's a decent cook but since she's in the hospital with a broken ankle, we have to suffer my father's cooking. How the heck do we make enough food let alone make a profit?"

"Let's just concentrate on getting something to sell first," Akazawa said as he yawned. "I'm going to turn in and try to think of something that'll sell. Yuuta and Ichirou, don't forget that you two have quizzes in your classes tomorrow."

"I forgot," Yuuta groaned as he rose from his seat. "I haven't even studied for it."

"Me too," Kaneda groaned as he stretched his back. "Let's study for an hour and then hit the sack, Yuuta."

As the two younger boys left, Kisarazu rose. "I'm going to wash my face to try and keep awake."

"I'll go with you," Mizuki said with a yawn. "I need to clear out my mind."

As the two left, Yanagisawa shook his head. "This is just hopeless, da-ne. Why are we even looking at things to cook when the most that we can do is boil water, da-ne?"

"Because we are masochists, Shinya," Nomura said as he flipped a page.

"No, if we were real masochists, we would brave Coach Ryuzaki, Fuji Syusuke, Akawaza and Yuuta to ask Ryuzaki-chan to help us cook," Yanagisawa retorted.

Nomura paused as he looked at Yanagisawa. "Are you suggesting that we be real masochists and ask her?"

"Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting, da-ne?" Yanagisawa demanded as his eyes focused on Nomura. "That we brave them all just to ask her- without any guarantee that she'll do it, da-ne?"

"What have we got to loose, Shinya?"

"Good point, da-ne."

"So have you guys found anything?" Mizuki asked as he walked into the lounge.

Yanagisawa smiled brightly. "Just a couple of ideas, da-ne."

* * *

Prince

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Prince

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Tennis

**

* * *

Time: Wednesday morning **

Walking towards the tennis courts with some things that she picked from her starting garden to grow, Sakuno smiled as she looked at the tennis team practicing. She managed to see the person she wanted to see most, Ryoma, practicing with Momo-sempai on the courts as well as Oishi-sempai and Kikumaru-sempai.

Off to the side, she could see her grandmother talking to Tezuka-buchou, Inui-sempai and Kawamura-sempai. Kaidoh-sempai was off to the side drinking a cup of something.

As she came closer to the courts, she saw just the other person she wanted to see most, her oniisan's Aniki, Fuji Syusuke.

Mindful of her manners, she started walking faster before calling out, "Fuji-semp-EEEEKK!"

* * *

Prince

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* * *

"So you think that Kawamura should gain more power if he uses the hand like this," Tezuka said as he held the racket and showed the gentle Kawamura. Ryuzaki-sensei nodded as watched Tezuka's demonstration. 

"It should work," Inui said as he adjusted his glasses. "And I also think-"

"EEEKK!"

Ryuzaki-sensei's head whipped towards the direction the scream came from. "Sakuno!"

Heart-stopping fear filled her as she forced herself to run as fast as she could towards her granddaughter's scream. "Sakuno!"

She was only vaguely aware of two people holding on to her granddaughter. So with a mighty cry, she gave a flying kick to the one that was holding her granddaughter by the shoulders and the moment she landed, she landed an open-palmed blow to the other attacker's chest, forcing him back. When the two were down, she resumed a battle stance and was about to attack again when she felt a small weight against her waist, holding her. She was about to fling the slight weight away when a small voice cried out:

"Obaachan! Don't!"

Shaking out of herself out of her bloody-mindedness, Sumire Ryuzaki felt all the energy leave her the moment she realized that it was Sakuno who was holding her down. Dropping to her knees, she hugged the girl tightly before desperately checking her for injuries. "Are you all right? You aren't hurt are you? They didn't hurt you?"

Sakuno shook her head. "I'm okay, Obaachan! I'm okay!"

"Oh, thank god," Sumire Ryuzaki the protective grandmother said as she held her little girl close to her. She closed her eyes and willed her fears to go away. "Thank you, Lord."

Fires of anger flew through Fuji's blood as he lifted up Yanagisawa by his shirt. "Just what do you think you're doing, Yanagisawa?"

"There goes the other cheek, da-ne…. Kaasan- Look, da-ne! I think I see stars, da-ne," Yanagisawa moaned as his eyes rolled back.

"Nomura, explain," Tezuka ordered as he knelt by the other boy from St. Rudolph.

"We're just a couple of masochists that needed to see Ryuzaki-chan," Nomura coughed as he rubbed his chest. "I didn't know it would be this painful to see her. Can I please get up?"

"Ano- why do you need to see her?" Oishi demanded as he helped the other boy up.

"But more importantly, why did she scream, nya?" Kikumaru demanded. "She scared the daylights out of us, nya!"

"I have no idea why she screamed," Nomura said as he rubbed his chest to try and ease the pain. "Why don't you ask her?"

"It's probably because you and Yanagisawa grabbed her shoulder and scared her," Fuji said coldly as he glared at Nomura.

"That is the most likely probability, Fuji," Inui said as he adjusted his glasses. "And the most likely reason for you to be here is to ask Ryuzaki-chan to help cook for your mini-bazaar this weekend, right?"

Hearing this, Ryuzaki-sensei felt her anger returning as she let go of her granddaughter to confront the idiots that dared to scare the wits out of her. Without noticing, most of her Regulars took a step back. "You scared the hell out of me and my granddaughter because you want her to bake for your booth?"

"Obaachan!" Sakuno cried out as she tried to stop her grandmother from doing more bodily harm to Yuuta-oniisan's teammate. She stopped when she felt herself being held back. She looked up to see-"Syusuke-oniisan!"

"Your grandmother has every right to be mad, Sakuno-chan," Fuji said as he never took his eyes off of his coach's back. He kept her by his side to stop her from interfering with her grandmother's wrath.

"Fssh, that's stupid," Kaidoh hissed as he looked dismissively at Nomura and the duck-faced tennis player. "I'm going back to practice-"

Nomura got to his knees and bowed before Ryuzaki-chan's grandmother. "We really need her, please! Her cooking is the only surefire-guaranteed thing that will sell in our school! Please sensei! Can she help us?"

"I thought you guys were forbidden to come here to ask for her help," Fuji said in a hard voice.

"We are, but we decided that we were masochists," Nomura admitted as he lifted his head slightly. "Because we really can't stand looking at the cook books anymore and drooling over them and then ruining any recipe we could find! Ryuzaki-chan! We need your help please!"

"Ano," Sakuno stammered as she grabbed and twisted the hem of Syusuke-oniisan's jacket. "Ano- ano- I don't know-ano-"

"You don't have to do it if you don't want to," Ryoma stated as he looked at her in the eye. "You're not obligated to help them."

"Ano-I know," Sakuno stammered. "But- but- ano- they're asking for help-"

"Mada mada dane, Ryuzaki. People will always ask for help," Ryoma stated as he shook his head. "But you don't always have to give it. Come on, I'll take you back to class so your grandmother can deal with this."

"Yes, walk her back to class!" Momo grinned with glee as he looked at Echizen. "Take a walk back to class!"

Echizen gave him a killing look. "Mada mada dane, Momo-sempai."

Desperate, Nomura put his head down again. "But we're begging and we're going to face horrible punishments anyway if you don't help us!"

"You guys are really pathetic," Kaidoh hissed. He turned to look at the curious spectators of the tennis club. "What are you all looking at?"

Tezuka noticed this and announced, "All of you- go do twenty laps!"

Immediately, the non-Regulars started to jog and do the laps. Tezuka looked at his coach. "We have to get back to practice-"

"Please let Ryuzaki-chan cook for us!" Nomura asked again.

"I dunno, is her cooking really that good?" Momo asked as he scratched his chin and glanced at Echizen who only shrugged.

"Yes," answered six resounding voices. Inui lifted an eyebrow as he noted the voices of Tezuka, Oishi, Fuji, Kawamura, Ryuzaki-sensei and Nomura.

Hearing this, Sakuno blushed fiercely and hid her face into Syusuke-oniisan's jacket. "I'm not that good, Nomura-san!"

"Yes, you are, Ryuzaki-chan!" Nomura said as he lifted his head. "Please help us!"

"Oi, will you please stop pestering her?" Oishi demanded as he looked at Nomura.

"If she doesn't want to, my granddaughter will do no such thing," Ryuzaki-sensei said stoutly. She made her granddaughter look at her. "Do you want to, Sa-chan?"

Sakuno bit her lip. "I want to help Yuuta-oniisan but he told me that I shouldn't cook if the team asks because- because it's a St. Rudolph matter. He said that he didn't want them to take advantage of my food."

"He has a point," Fuji said as he looked at Nomura. "You'd be putting all the time and effort in cooking while these guys reap in the profits."

Ryoma glanced at her troubled face then sighed. "Mada mada dane. Then why not just charge them for the food?"

Everyone looked at Echizen owlishly. Then suddenly Kikumaru glommed himself onto Echizen's back. "Nya! Ochibi hit on the solution! Nya! Charge them! Charge St. Rudolph!"

* * *

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* * *

Yawning, Inui smiled as he started writing his latest entries. 

**Observation A:** Ryuzaki-sensei has had some training in the martial arts and when motivated, her speed is on par with Tezuka's speed.

**Observation B: **Confirmed that Tezuka, Oishi, Kawamura and Fuji have tasted Ryuzaki-chan's cooking and found it tasty.

**Observation C:** Echizen is becoming more mentally mature in consoling Ryuzaki-chan when she is upset.

**Observation D:** Negotiations for Ryuzaki's cooking was advantageous to both sides. Nomura and Yanagisawa were both given severe punishments upon their return.

**Fact A:** Ryuzaki will receive twelve percent of the profits after expenses as payment for her dishes.

**Fact B:** Ryuzaki will make the total of fifteen dishes, ranging from meals to desserts, not including the baked items. And a portion of the more expensive dishes will be auctioned off in an effort to raise more money for the St. Rudolph tennis club.

**Notation A:** Will go to St. Rudolph mini-bazaar over the weekend to see how the auction and sales went.

With that final notation, Inui took off his glasses and went to bed.


	10. Hazards of Grocery Shopping

**Author's Notes (1): Still takes place before the Hyotei arch. (I think they had a month of practice before they met.)**

**Author's Notes (2): def. bokuto: wooden katana used in kendo. **

**Author's Notes (3): Japanese foods: Kushiage: breaded pork kabob, Unagi no kabayaki: grilled eel; saba no miso ni: miso braised mackerel**

**Author's Note (4): Hint of some lime between Rinko and Nanjiroh. Not enough to give a rating, but enough to know that Nanjiroh really lusts after his wife.**

* * *

**Title: Hazards with Grocery Shopping**

* * *

"Oi! Seishounen, come on," shouted out Nanjiroh Echizen as he waited by the doorway. "Your Kaasan doesn't have all day!"

Ryoma scowled as he exited his room. He simply couldn't understand it- he had homework to do and sleep to catch up on, why was it him that had to go food shopping with his mother? He looked at his father's not-so innocent face and scowled even more. "Why do I have to go with Kaasan? I wanted to go practice today."

Nanjiroh Echizen looked down at his only son, placed a hand on his shoulder and grinned for all he was worth. How he just loved to annoy his much-too-serious dwarf of a son! The boy was obsessed with tennis like his old man was at that age. "Because- you have to and I don't."

Now annoyed to all hell, Ryoma's scowl deepened. "Why do I have to? Just because school was only half-day today, why do I have to go food shopping? I have to finish my homework."

Nanjiroh looked at his son suspiciously. Maybe this wasn't his kid after all. "Homework! Why would you want to do homework now? You have a three-day weekend coming up!"

"Because it's called being responsible." Ryoma looked at his father with some irritation. "So that I won't scramble to do it on Sunday night?"

Nanjiroh shook his head. "You must have gotten that quality from your Kaasan. What about your practice? Can you beat me yet, seishounen?"

"I'll beat you as soon as I finish my homework," Ryoma glowered.

"Homework! Homework! You can do that later! After all, you have a three-day weekend coming up!" Nanjiroh smirked at his son. "After all, it's not like you're going out and practicing tennis and to try to beat me."

He waited a heartbeat- just to give the dwarf some hope in thinking that he could get out of the chore of going shopping then destroyed it with a verbal lob. "But practicing and studying needs sustenance- and you eat a lot. And you do want to eat, don't you, seishounen? So that means you get to go with your mother."

His eyebrow twitching, Ryoma's scowl deepened even more as he looked at his father. "You eat as much as I do! And why do I have to? Did you volunteer me again?"

"Would I do anything like that?" Nanjiroh protested innocently. "Such a look directed to you father! You're not cute at all, you know!"

"I don't want to be cute," Ryoma practically snarled back. "Why don't you go?"

"Because I'm going to be busy this afternoon," Nanjiroh shot back with an angelic smile. 'So you're going to help your Kaasan."

"Busy doing what?" Ryoma demanded with a scowl. "Not looking at your perverted magazines all afternoon, baka oyaji!"

Nanjiroh scowled as that one insult volleyed by him. "Not that it's any of your business, but I'm going to be busy doing things!"

"But that still doesn't explain why I'm going," Ryoma growled as he glared at his father.

"You're going because I want to bond with my only son," Rinko Echizen said as she popped her head into the doorway and smiled at him. "Or would you rather stay here and mow the lawn, trim the bushes and basically taking care of the temple grounds with your father rather than go with me, your poor kaasan?"

Nanjiroh's jaw dropped as he swung his head to look at his wife. "MOW THE LAWN? TRIM the BUSHES!"

Rinko looked at her lazy husband with a militant eye as she crossed her arms. "Yes, mow the lawn and trim the bushes. Nanako has to go to the library to study for her test and since you offered Ryoma to go shopping with me, you get to stay home and take care of the temple grounds."

"I knew you volunteered me again," Ryoma muttered as he half-heartedly glared at his father. He was feeling much better now that his mother was on his father's lazy self and that he was escaping more strenuous labor.

Filling with the horror of his self doing some real work without his brat to do it for him or for him around to tease, Nanjiroh immediately started to protest. "But Rinko! When did- I- you never gave me a choice!"

"I gave you a choice last night," Rinko said as she looked at her husband. "I asked if you wanted to go shopping with me-"

Nanjiroh glared at his wife. "I don't remember you asking me to go shopping with you!"

Though her cheeks were getting red, Rinko glared back. "It was when we were at the temple last night. Just before you, ah, started ringing the bells… at the temple."

"Just before I started ringing the bells?" Nanjiroh repeated as he thought about it. "Just before I started ringing the bells- Just before I started- oh!" His face started to grow red as he remembered what he was doing with his wife, just before ringing the temple bells. "Rinko! You can't hold that against me! I wasn't in my right mind!"

Smirking at him, Rinko said tartly, "Oh yes I can! Ryoma, say 'bye' to your father and then in the car!"

Adjusting his cap, Ryoma smirked at his father as he walked out the door. "Bye, Oyaji! Work REALLY hard!"

"RYOMA!" Nanjiroh yelped as he tried to grab his son to stop him from leaving. But the boy was fast in his escape and somehow managed to close the door quickly, causing his father to run into it. "Yeow! Ittai!"

"That's what you get for trying to tackle your son," Rinko said as she gathered her handbag and looked at her husband casually. "Now don't forget to- Nanjiroh!"

Nanjiroh grinned as he held his wife pinned against the door. His eyes gleamed with mischief as he looked at her flushed face. "Neh, Rinko, you sure you want to go shopping with the brat?" He nuzzled her just below her ear. "You could send him shopping and we could stay here… and… take care of the temple together. Or… we could skip that and I could ring your bells…"

"Like that would really happen," Rinko gasped as she shivered in her husband's arms. Shaking her head to get rid of her husband's spell around her, she looked at him sternly. "I am going shopping with Ryoma to buy him some new clothes and the groceries. You will take care of the temple grounds."

"Fine, I'll take care of the temple grounds," Nanjiroh sighed in resignation then he looked at his wife then swooped down for a kiss. He smiled wickedly at her dazed state. "So long as you remember that I'll be after you when you come back."

Puzzled, Rinko looked at him. "Why me?"

"Because you told me to take care of the temple," Nanjiroh said as he looked at his wife. His eyes gleamed with naughty mischief. "And since I worship at the temple of my wife-"

"Nanjiroh!" Rinko shouted as she bopped her husband on the head, her face a violent red.

Grinning madly, Nanjiroh grabbed his wife's wrist and stole another kiss before springing away to safety. "Neh, bye-bye Rinko!"

* * *

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Biting her lip, Sakuno peeked up at the tall sempai who walked with her towards the shopping district then quickly looked down at her feet.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when he suddenly asked, "What's wrong?"

"Are you sure you wish to go with me, buchou?" Sakuno blurted out worriedly as she looked up at the tall tennis captain. "You really don't have to. I know the way to the markets. You could have gone with Obaachan and Oishi-sempai to buy the supplies."

Kunimitsu Tezuka merely looked at the younger girl beside him. "Your grandmother asked me to escort you."

"But you're buchou now, you shouldn't be babysitting me anymore," Sakuno protested as she looked at him. "You have more important things to do with Oishi-sempai."

"That may be true, but making dinner is just as important," Tezuka said mildly as he stopped at the stop sign. He looked at her worried face and gave in to his suspicions about her grandmother's request. "She is still slightly upset about what happened last Saturday."

Stopping with him, Sakuno stared at him then scowled slightly. "She's being overprotective."

"She's being a grandmother," Tezuka corrected mildly as he looked at her with some sympathy. The walked some distance before he tried to give her some words of encouragement. "It's not so bad, Sakuno-chan."

"Tezuka-sempai," Sakuno sighed heavily before she looked at him. "If I'm lucky it only means a few more days waiting for her in the library if no one can take me home, jackets when it's a little breezy, no more hanging out with Tomo-chan and more telephone calls when she can't see me. If I'm not, it means that Obaachan told Daddy and Obaasan about what happened on Saturday and I get to be chained to Obaasan all weekend and Daddy will try and come here and if he can't he'll call my uncles and then that'll be even a bigger mess."

"I'm sure it won't be as bad as you think," Tezuka said diplomatically as he stopped at a red light. "Especially with your Obaasan."

"The weekend after Yuuta-oniisan rescued me from the roller-blader, Obaasan had the entire training dojo looking for me when I went around the corner to go get drinks and she nearly flattened a guy who was asking for directions," Sakuno said flatly as she looked at him in askance. "And let's not even say what my uncles did, sempai."

"I see," Tezuka said with a cough. "Ah- Just keep her bokuto away from her."

When Sakuno looked at him as if he had two heads, Tezuka merely lifted an eyebrow as he looked at her. "At least it's not like it was when you were in elementary school last year. Your cousins aren't here to traumatize everyone. Or would you rather have them back?"

"No thank you. I think I'm still traumatized from finding out what Masa-chan, Nao-chan and Sai-chan did to that bully, sempai," Sakuno muttered as her face blanched as she remembered her last year of elementary school and her family's protectiveness, particularly those antics of the cousins who were of the same age. "I still can't believe that they threatened and blackmailed Yamazaki like that behind my back. Not that he didn't deserve it, but still, I'm so glad that's not going to happen again."

"I'm sure it won't since your cousins have moved away," Tezuka said nonchalantly.

"And I know that Yuuta-oniisan and Syusuke-oniisan won't do anything like my cousins did- they're too nice and not overprotective at all," Sakuno smiled brightly. "They're not they type to go hunting down a couple of strangers, right, buchou?"

Tezuka didn't even blink an eye when he said, "Right. So which store do you have to go to first, Sakuno-chan?"

"Ano- I think the fish store has to be last, so everything can stay fresh," Sakuno said as she looked at her list of items she needed. "Ano- I think that the grocery store first and then the hardware store."

"Hardware store?" Tezuka asked politely.

"Hardware store," Sakuno affirmed with a small blush. "I need to buy new gardening gloves, hand trowel and a pair of gardening shears."

"You're going to try growing a garden again?" Tezuka asked as he looked at her in amusement.

"I AM growing a garden," Sakuno said proudly. "It's just not going to be as big as it was the last time and just to let you know; it's coming along quite nicely, Tezuka-sempai, I mean, buchou. The aojiso and akojiso are sprouting really nicely and I'm starting to get some lettuce leaves, some pickles and tomatoes."

"That's always a good sign," Tezuka said with a straight face.

Sakuno looked at Tezuka suspiciously. "Are you laughing at me?"

His tongue in his cheek, Tezuka looked at her solemnly. "No, I'm not." When she continued to look at him suspiciously, he added, "My grandfather taught me to never ever argue or laugh at the chef."

Sakuno blinked at him. "Why not?"

"Because they're in charge of the meal and you never know what they might make." Tezuka answered, then mentally added, 'Or what else they might put in the meal other than food.'

"That sounds like a good idea," Sakuno said as she thought about it. "Though, I wonder what happened to Inui-sempai to have him make so many juices that cause the tennis club to faint after drinking it."

Tezuka stared at the girl. "That is a very good question to ponder over. It seems we may have let our guard down."

* * *

Prince

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Prince

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* * *

Sakuno frowned as she looked up at the aisle of shelves. Just at the top of that shelf, there was a hook filled with the bamboo skewers that she needed. This was not good at all. "Sakuno, you are such a baka. You just had to send Tezuka-sempai to the fish market first."

She looked around her to see if she could find a store clerk to help her. So far she could only see a really tall boy holding the basket for his sister. Sakuno bit her lip as she wondered if she could ask for some help in getting those skewers.

Mustering up her courage, Sakuno came in front of the girl and bowed her head down. "I'm really very sorry to bother you, but could you please help me get those skewers up there? I can't reach them because I'm so short."

"Of course we can help you," answered the girl as she patted Sakuno's shoulder. "Choutarou-kun, please get those for this little girl."

"Hai-hai, Neechan," Choutarou answered as he headed towards the shelves. "So which ones do you need? There a re several types up here- the metal or the bamboo ones?"

"Thank you very much," Sakuno bowed deeply before following him. "I would like the ones that are semi-thick, smooth bamboo used for grilling beef and fish? And can you bring down a metal skewer so I can look at it?"

"Hai, I think I see what you want up here, but there seems to be a lot of kinds of metal skewers up here," Choutarou said as he brought down a couple of bags.

"Since you're busy here, Choutarou, I'm going to leave the basket here and go to the meat counter," his sister called out. "You can get me some Napa cabbage, lettuce, mushrooms and broccoli for the shabu shabu when you're done."

Choutarou blanched. "But I can't pick out vegetables, Neechan!"

Lifting her eyes from the bags, Sakuno blinked as she looked at the boy who was so kind to her. "Ano- I think I can help you pick out vegetables for shabu shabu!"

"There you go, Choutarou," called out his sister. "Now be helpful to the little one."

"Hai," Choutarou called out to his sister's back. "So are these the ones that you need?"

Sakuno nodded. "I need one more bag of these bamboo skewers and is there a thinner metal skewer up there?"

Choutarou looked and picked a bag. "How's this?"

"Oh, this is perfect!" Sakuno cried as she took the bag. She smiled brightly. "Can I have two more of these?"

"Sure," Choutarou said as he brought a couple more down. "So you're grilling something?"

Sakuno nodded as she placed the skewers into her basket. "I'm going to be making dinner for my sempai-tachi while they meet with my Obaachan. They like homemade Unagi kabayaki and Kushiage so I'll make it for them."

"That sounds really delicious," Choutarou said as he picked up his own basket and looked at her with a smile. "We're shopping for shabu shabu since we're having may be having my aunt, uncle and baby cousin over."

Sakuno smiled cutely at him. "So how many people are there going to be with your family? About seven?"

Choutarou thought about it as he counted on his fingers. "Seven sounds about right- I'll eat Taki-chan's portion since he's only one. But then, Uncle and Father eat as much as I do…"

"So then how about I show you which are the freshest vegetables and we figure it out from there?" Sakuno asked amusedly. "And you can show them to your Neechan."

"Sounds like a good idea," Choutarou said as they reached the fruits and vegetable section of the market. He saw the display of broccoli. "Yosh! Let's get some broccoli for the evil Broccoli wizard of Hyotei! How about this? Is this a good one?"

Sakuno stared at him. Just why did that title sound vaguely familiar? She took the broccoli head and inspected it as she asked, "Ano- what did you just call yourself? This is not good- too many dry spots- see how it has all those yellow? No good for shabu shabu."

"Okay, I called myself an evil Broccoli wizard of Hyotei," Choutarou answered as he looked at another head with less yellow spots. "It's something I overheard in the park the other day. A little girl was baby sitting her friend's brothers and she scared the kids by calling Hyotei a bunch of broccoli eating magicians that stole candy."

"She did," Sakuno said faintly as her face grew red.

Not paying attention, Choutarou picked another head of broccoli and scrutinized it. "Yes- I was insulted at first but then I figured that she went to a rival school somewhere because Oshitari-sempai mentioned that Ginka was mentioned as well. So she had to be from a rival school. Is this broccoli good?"

"I see," Sakuno said faintly. '_Don't panic, don't panic_' Shaking herself, she took the broccoli and examined it. "This looks good- nice color and firm. You should get another one like it. So did you get a look at her?"

"Nope, too far," Choutarou answered as he looked for another head of broccoli. "She wasn't wearing her school uniform either. There! I found another one- shall we go for the other stuff that we need?"

Feeling relieved, Sakuno smiled at him. "The Napa cabbage is over there-"

"Okay, let's see," Choutarou said as he headed towards the Napa cabbages.

"Ryuzaki! What are you doing here?" called out a voice. Sakuno looked to see Horio standing behind her.

"Horio-kun!" Sakuno exclaimed as she looked at him. "I'm shopping! And you?"

"I'm doing the same with my mother," Horio said as he looked at her and tried to peer into her basket. "So what are you cooking?"

"Is this good?" Choutarou called out as he brought over a large Napa cabbage without any spots.

Sakuno took it and weighed it in her hands. "For its size, it's not heavy enough. There's a good chance it's not juicy. And see the bottom- they took out some leaves to make it look fresh. I'll show you what to look for. Horio-kun, please excuse me."

"Sure," Horio said as he looked at the tall guy who took Ryuzaki away with him to look over vegetables. They really looked friendly with each other. "I wonder who he is?"

* * *

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Prince

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* * *

"And here's the last stop," Rinko said as she parked the car. She looked over at her bored son. "We just need to get some fish from the fish market and some fresh vegetables. You can get the fish while I get the vegetables, Ryoma. Make sure that it's fresh."

Alarmed, Ryoma looked at his mother. "But I don't know how to pick a fresh fish!"

Rinko patted his head. "Just look it in the eye and smell it. If it's off, then chances are that it's not a fresh fish. Is that clear?"

"Mada mada dane," Ryoma said as he got out of the car. "But I'll try it."

"Good boy," Rinko giggled as she looked at her departing son.

* * *

Prince

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* * *

Ryoma entered the fish market and wrinkled his nose at the smell. "Everything here smells like fish. Buchou!"

Tezuka turned from the live eels he was looking at to greet his kohai. "Echizen."

"Can I help you, Tezuka-kun?" asked a man in an apron.

"Uchiya-san, I would like this eel here and that long one there, please," Tezuka ordered as he pointed out to which eels he wanted.

"Ah, very good choices," the man said as he took out a net from the side of the fish tanks.

Ryoma watched the man in fascination as he tried to net the eels that his buchou picked. "Buchou, you like live eels?"

"There is nothing like the taste of fresh grilled eel on a summer day," Tezuka simply stated as he watched the man as well. "Are you here to pick fish?"

Ryoma nodded. "My mother sent me. I have to look it in the eye and smell it. Though I'm not sure of what that means."

"Oh, Tezuka-san! What are you doing here?" called out a sing-song voice. The two tennis Regulars turned to see a girl with black hair walk towards them.

"Amano-san," Tezuka greeted as he looked at his classmate. "I'm picking up some fresh eel."

Amano smiled sweetly at him as she moved closer to him. "Do you need some help? I'm very good at picking out fresh fish."

"Mada mada dane. Buchou already picked some up," Ryoma said as he pointed at the man who was now in the process of getting the second eel.

"I see," said Amano as she turned her attention to the little boy who interrupted her. "And who are you?"

"Sempai- sempai, I'm done with the shopping!" Sakuno called out as she entered the fish market. She stopped suddenly when she saw a familiar face. "Ryoma-kun!"

"Ryuzaki," Ryoma greeted as he looked at her. He looked down at her bags. "You just finished food shopping?"

"Oh- ah, hai!" Sakuno stammered as she blushed. "Ano- and you?"

"I have to pick up some fish for my mother," Ryoma said as he looked at her. A familiar annoyed feeling went though his gut. "So you came to pick up some fish with buchou?"

"Ah, hai!" Sakuno stammered as she looked at Ryoma then at Tezuka. "Ano- he's-ah-"

"Here's your eels, Tezuka-kun," Uchiya-san said as he lifted the bowl he put the eels in. "Oh, hello there, Ryuzaki-chan!"

"Hello, Uchiya-san," Sakuno greeted then she blanched as she realized what was in the bowl. She looked at Tezuka in askance. "Tezuka-sempai, if you got the live ones then you will have to fillet them for me."

"Understood," Tezuka said with a nod. He took the couple of bags she had in her hands. "Do you need anything else here?"

Sakuno looked at Uchiya-san. "Can I see your whole Spanish mackerel sea bass, red snapper and yellow tail fillets?"

"Hai-hai, they're all over there and they all just came in this morning," Uchiya-san said cheerfully. "Anything else for Tezuka-kun's little wife?"

Missing the narrow-eyed look that Ryoma shot at the fish monger, Sakuno blanched as she shook her head violently. "Uchiya-san! I'm not! I'm not!"

"I didn't know that you had a little wife already, Tezuka-san," Amano smiled sweetly as she aimed a killing look at the younger girl. "How sweet."

"I don't, Amano-san," Tezuka sighed as he looked at Uchiya-san. "Uchiya-san, you tease Sakuno-chan too much."

"I can't help it," Uchiya-san laughed as he looked at Tezuka. He grinned as he started towards the counter. "I've know the two of you since you both were no higher than your grandfather's knee. Who knew that you two would end up at the same school and that you would be her babysitter? Maybe you two will get married? Yow! Look out!"

"Oh my! Look out! Tezuka!" Amano cried out as the bowl of eels went flying out of the fish monger's hands and straight towards the little girl who was still shaking her head in denial. She threw herself towards the tennis captain… and instead made contact with the glass fish tanks.

"Sakuno-chan!" Tezuka cried out as he lurched towards his coach's granddaughter- but Echizen was quicker as he jerked her to the side and into his buchou.

"Eep!" Sakuno cried out as she felt herself being pushed to the side and fell against a hard chest. Dazed, she looked up to see Tezuka looking down on her. "Sempai!"

"Are you all right?' Tezuka asked as he straightened her and looked her over. When she nodded, he looked at Echizen who had an annoyed look on his face. "Fast reflexes, Echizen."

Ryoma nodded curtly as he adjusted his cap. "It was nothing."

Tezuka nodded curtly then looked at the fish monger who was trying to catch the wildly squirming eels. "Uchiya-san-allow me to help you-"

"I caught one! No!" Tezuka called out as he grabbed a squirming eel but somehow it managed to escape his grasp and went flying towards Amano.

"Eeeekk!" Amano screamed as the eel went flying at her. Wildly screaming and shaking, Amano kept screaming as the eel wildly lashed at her. "Get it off! Get it off!"

"I'll get it! Oh, yuck!" Ryoma called out as he tried to pick up the other eel- but that somehow squirmed out of his hands and went towards the other girl, but missed her. "Let me try again-"

"Oh no!" Sakuno gasped as she stood away from the girl who had eels at her feet. She grabbed Ryoma's sleeve and pulled him away from the fracas. "Ryoma-kun! Don't! Let Tezuka-sempai or Uchiya-san do it!"

"Che," Ryoma huffed but he stayed near Ryuzaki since she was still holding on to his sleeve.

"Mio- get the bowls! Tezuka-kun, stay back- I got them!" Uchiya-san called out as he held the squirming eels tightly. After putting them into a bowl, he looked at the wildly crying girl. "Mio- get the girl some strong tea and calm her down. She's had a fright because of these lively eels Tezuka-kun picked."

As his worker led the girl away, Uchiya smiled at the remaining three. "Sorry about that bit of excitement there. Are you okay, Ryuzaki-chan?"

"I'm okay," Sakuno said as she straightened. She blushed deeply when she realized that she was holding on to Ryoma's sleeve. "Ano- I'm sorry, Ryoma-kun. I just- it's just that eels are just too much like worms for me!"

"Mada mada dane, Ryuzaki," Ryoma said as he adjusted his cap to hide the growing hot feeling in his cheeks.

"But they taste great when you cook them," Uchiya-san said cheerfully. "And you must make them very well for Tezuka-kun to want you to make them for him!" He looked at Tezuka. "And I'm surprised that with all your experience in fish, you were unable to hold on to one."

"It happens when you don't have a firm grip, Uchiya-san," Tezuka shrugged as he straightened his clothing out. "We will enjoy eating that one. Sakuno-chan, do you want to stay and look at those fish? It's almost time to meet sensei."

"Oh! Let me just look at the sea bass and Spanish mackerel? Yuuta-oniisan asked if I could make him some saba-no-miso ni," Sakuno said as she looked at Uchiya-san. "And some sardines so that I can roast them for breakfast?"

"Come this way," Uchiya-san said as he pointed the way. "And you little man, what would you like today?"

"Some fish that doesn't smell and can look me in the eye," Ryoma said. When the fish monger and Sakuno looked at him, puzzled, he simply shrugged. "That's what my mother told me to look for."

"Ano- did she say what kind of fish?" Sakuno asked. Ryoma shook his head. Sighing, she looked at him. "Would you like me to pick out a fresh fish for you?"

"If you like," Ryoma said as he lowered his cap. He looked up at his buchou speculatively. "That was a very loose grip on that eel, buchou. You were careless."

Tezuka said nothing as he watched Ryuzaki pick out the fish she was looking for. Ryoma tried again. "So who was that girl? A fan girl?"

"She's merely a classmate of mine," Tezuka said simply.

Ryoma snorted. "A mere classmate doesn't trip innocent fish mongers in an effort to hurt clueless girls." He gave Tezuka an arched look. "She's a fan girl. And you loosened your grip on that eel, buchou."

"Perhaps she is," Tezuka conceded after a moment. "But you were careless, my aim was better than yours, Echizen. Ryuzaki, are you done?"

Grabbing the bags from Uchiya-san, Sakuno turned to look and smile at him. "Hai, sempai. Ryoma-kun? I got you a very nice medium-sized sea bass that was very fresh!"

Blushing, Ryoma tipped his cap to her as he took the wrapped fish from her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Ryoma-kun," Sakuno said happily. She looked up at Tezuka. "Ready now but you still have to fillet them."

"As you will," Tezuka said then nodded at Ryoma. "Echizen- I'll see you on Monday."

"Bye-bye, Ryoma-kun," Sakuno said before she walked out the door with a woman walking in.

"Oh, you know, Ryoma?" the woman asked as she looked at the young girl and young man.

Sakuno and Tezuka stopped to look at her. He bowed slightly and greeted, "Yes, I am Tezuka Kunimitsu, his tennis club captain."

Sakuno bowed to her as well. "I'm Ryuzaki Sakuno- I'm in the same grade as him at Seigaku."

"How do you do, I'm Ryoma's mother," Rinko greeted as she looked at them. "I'm so pleased to meet you- thank you for taking care of my precocious son."

"Kaasan," Ryoma groused as he looked at his mother. When she smiled at him, he gave her the wrapped fish. "Here's the fish, Kaasan."

"What did you get?" Rinko asked as she looked at him.

"Medium sized sea bass and very fresh," Ryoma said as he looked at Sakuno. "Right?"

"Hai," Sakuno said as she smiled. She looked at Ryoma's pretty mother a bit anxiously. "I hope you don't mind sea bass- Ryoma-kun didn't say what kind you wanted."

"I'm sure that it's good- we eat any fish," Rinko said as she smiled at the girl. "Thank you for helping Ryoma out."

"Oh, it was no trouble at all," Sakuno said as she shook her head. She blushed deeply. "He often helps me out so it was no trouble at all."

"How nice of Ryoma," Rinko muttered as she looked at the girl with long braids closely. "You said Ryuzaki? As in the tennis team coach?"

"Hai, she's my obaachan," Sakuno nodded happily. Suddenly there was a sharp ring from her pocket, giving Ryoma's mother an apologetic look, she answered it. "I'm sorry but we must go now- Obaachan is waiting."

Rinko waved it off. "It's all right, it's all right. But you must all come to dinner one day, please."

Horrified at the invitation, Ryoma stared at his other. "Kaasan!"

Smiling in amusement, Rinko looked at her son innocently. "What? Your father will behave if his old coach is around."

"One hopes," Ryoma muttered as he shoved his cap down. "Can we go now?"

"Please make an appointment with Ryoma and come," Rinko said as she looked at her son with a steely eye.

"I will be sure to pass the message," Tezuka said with a bow. "But since the match with Hyotei is coming up soon, it might have to wait."

"It's all right- most times are good," Rinko said with a smile. "Now go before Ryuzaki-chan's obaachan starts to worry."

"Hai, and it was nice to meet you," Tezuka said then nodded at Ryoma. "Echizen."

"Thank you- it was very nice to meet you," Sakuno bowed. She waved at Ryoma. "See you on Monday, Ryoma-kun."

"Usui," Ryoma said with a nod. He watched the two walk out together and was unsure of what he felt about that. So he ignored it and looked up at his mother as she looked at him with some amusement. "Kaasan-"

"They sure are a cute couple," Rinko said as she watched Tezuka-kun and Ryuzaki-chan leave together. "I wonder if they'll get married."

Gritting his teeth, Ryoma asked loudly, "How could you ask them to come over?"

"I would like to meet your friends, Ryoma," Rinko said as she looked at her son as she walked over towards the counter. "Is there anything wrong with me meeting them?"

"Meeting you isn't the problem," Ryoma groused.

"I see," Rinko nearly giggled. She cleared her throat as she asked, "So are Tezuka-san and Ryuzaki-chan dating?"

Startled, Uchiya-san looked at the woman with the boy with golden brown eyes. He smiled at the way the boy was gripping the sea bass. "You think they look cute, too?"

"Oh, very," Rinko agreed. "Don't you think they look cute, Ryoma?"

Gritting his teeth again, Ryoma asked loudly, "Mada mada dane. What else are we getting, Kaasan? And are we done yet?"

Rinko waved her hand. "Just a couple of more fillets please- the salmon and yellowtail please. So you think that they make a cute couple?"

Uchiya-san chuckled. "If she can get over killing live eels, Tezuka-kun would be sitting pretty having a cute girl like her to cook for him."

"Can we go home now?" Ryoma asked through gritted teeth.

* * *

Prince

Of

Tennis

* * *

"So what's up with that seishounen?" Nanjiroh asked as he picked at his fish. "He hardly said any word during dinner!"

"Nothing's wrong with him," Rinko said as she sipped her soup. "He's just upset that there might be more than one fish after the same bait. By the way- I gave an open invite for Coach Ryuzaki and Ryoma's teammates to have dinner with us."

"What? Why? Rinko!"


	11. Hair By Oishi

**Author's Notes (1): Still takes place before Hyotei arch.**

**Author's Notes (2): No real hard Japanese words used. **

* * *

**Title: Hair by Oishi**

* * *

At the tennis courts, Sakuno ran as carefully and as quickly as she could to her grandmother, she clutching to the end of one of her braids. "Obaachan! Obaachan! Obaachan!"

Sumire Ryuzaki turned from her conversation with Oishi to look at her granddaughter. "Eh? What's wrong, Sakuno?"

"Excuse me, Oishi-sempai! Obaachan! One of my rubber bands broke and I have swimming class today!" Sakuno said as she looked at her grandmother with huge eyes. "Do you have an extra rubber band?"

Her grandmother winced. "I'm sorry but I'm wearing the only one I have. Can't you borrow one from your classmates?"

Sakuno shook her head. "They have swimming too- and only brought enough for themselves."

"Oh dear," her grandmother sighed as she scratched her head. "I suppose that we'll just have to put it into one braid for today."

Sakuno scrunched her face. "But it'll be messy, right?"

Her grandmother shrugged. "We haven't got a choice not unless you have a lot of pins to keep your hair in place or you could wear the swimming cap for today."

"Why don't you put it into a French braid?" Oishi suggested as he looked at the two females. He felt a sweat drop coming off of him when they stared at him. "Or-ah- not?"

Puzzled, Sakuno looked at him. "What's a French braid?"

"Do you know how to do a French braid?" Ryuzaki sensei asked. When Oishi nodded, she smiled in satisfaction. "Then I'll get a comb and you can do it for her- Sakuno, start unraveling your hair, Oishi will braid your hair for you."

"Ah-Hai, Obaachan," Sakuno stammered as she started untying her hair. She looked at Oishi-sempai who looked extremely red and really uncomfortable. "Ano- Oishi-sempai? You don't have to braid my hair if it makes you uncomfortable. I could tell Obaachan that I'd be happy with a plain braid."

Touched by her thoughtfulness, Oishi smiled. "No, I'm fine with braiding you hair. It'll be no different than braiding my little sister's hair. Yours is just longer."

"I'm sorry it's so long," Sakuno said as she bowed.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," Oishi said as he took a lock of her hair. "It's very nice- your hair has a lot of body and there aren't any spilt ends. And it doesn't seem to tangle easily."

Sakuno blushed. "Thank you, sempai….Ano- What exactly is a French braid?"

"It's basically a braid that starts at the crown of your head and you pull the hair on the sides into the braid," Oishi tried to explain. At Sakuno's lost look, he sighed. "It's easier to do than to explain it. I'll show you and the next time you can try to do it yourself, okay?"

"Okay sempai," Sakuno asked as she looked at him with wide eyes.

"Here's the comb," Ryuzaki-sensei said as she gave the comb to Oishi. "I'm going to go and get more copies of the attendance charts; we seem to be running low on them."

"Hai, sensei," Oishi said as he started to comb Sakuno's hair. "Now I need you to stay still, all right? Because if you start moving around, I can't get all of your hair, okay?"

"Hai, sempai," Sakuno said as she stood still. "Obaachan still says the same thing."

"Does she now?" Oishi asked as he started to separate Sakuno's hair at the crown of her head.

"Hai, because I used to move around so much but I'm older now," Sakuno said proudly. "And I can stay still even longer so Obaachan doesn't say it as often."

"That's good to hear," Oishi said as he started to gather and braid her hair a little it at a time while adding more and more hair. "Is this too tight?"

"No, not tight at all sempai," Sakuno answered back.

"That looks very intricate, Oishi," Inui said as he looked over Oishi's shoulder.

"Ah!" Sakuno cried out, startled then gasped in pain as she felt her hair being pulled. "Ittai!"

"Oh, sorry, Ryuzaki-chan!" Oishi apologized as he looked down at her and loosened his grip on her hair. "Inui! Don't do that!"

"Sorry," Inui said as he adjusted his glasses. There was a gleam at the corner of his glasses as he looked at Oishi. "You're very good at making braids, but that doesn't seem to be a standard braid, Oishi."

"Tilt you head down slightly, Ryuzaki-chan," Oishi ordered he looked over his shoulder to see Fuji and Tezuka coming towards them. "Fuji! Tezuka! Sensei went to make more copies of the attendance sheet. This is a standard braid to an extent, Inui."

"Oishi-sempai said that he's giving me a French braid," Sakuno answered Inui as she tilted her head down even more.

"Nya! Nya! Oishi! What are you doing?" Kikumaru cried out as he leapt on to Oishi's back causing him to inadvertently pull on Sakuno's hair once again. "What are you doing with little Ryuzaki, Oishi?"

"Ittai!" Sakuno cried out as she put her hands to her head.

"Eiji! Stop!" Oishi called out as he loosened his grip on Sakuno's hair. "Sorry, Ryuzaki-chan."

Fuji put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Eiji- Oishi's hands are a little busy right now."

"Oishi, are the schedules for today and tomorrow ready?" Tezuka asked as Oishi braided Ryuzaki's hair.

"They're ready for you to look at," Oishi said as he continued to braid Ryuzaki's hair. "Plus I also have some notes for you to look at."

"That sounds fine," Tezuka said. "I'll see to them as soon as you're done here."

"Do that move slowly," Inui said as he watched Oishi braid Ryuzaki's hair. "So you gather a little bit each time and you weave it in?"

"Ah, yes," Oishi said as he looked at Inui curiously. He nodded at Kawamura who had just arrived. "Morning, Taka-san!"

"Morning, Oishi," Kawamura answered with a sleepy nod. "Oh, you're giving Sakuno-chan a new hairstyle today?"

"Just for this morning," Oishi answered. "Inui, step back please."

Kawamura looked at Inui curiously. "Why are you taking notes about French braiding?"

Straightening, Inui zeroed in on Kawamura. "And how do you know it's a French braid that Oishi is making, Taka-san?"

"Ano- it's because he taught it to me when I messed up my younger cousin's hair?" Kawamura answered slowly. "But why are you taking notes?"

"Because it's data," Inui replied as he scribbled in his notebook again.

"So why is Oishi braiding your hair this morning, Sakuno-chan," Fuji asked as he knelt down to look at her.

"Because one of my rubber bands broke and Obaachan doesn't have any more for me to borrow," Sakuno said as she looked at Fuji. "And today we have swimming."

"I see," Fuji said as he smiled at her. "So now you get a new hairstyle by Oishi, Sakuno-chan."

"Who would have thought that Oishi-sempai knew how to do a girl's hair, eh, Echizen?" Momo said as he looked at his kohai.

"Mada mada dane," Ryoma said as he looked at Oishi-sempai braiding Sakuno's hair. He had a small frown on his face as he saw his sempai's fingers buried in those auburn tresses. "Aren't you going too slowly, Oishi-sempai?"

Blushing deeply, Sakuno turned her head to look at Ryoma. "Oh! Good morning Ryoma-kun!"

"Ryuzaki-chan, don't move yet," Oishi ordered as he took another lock of hair and braided it with the rest. "It'll be too loose if you move! I'll be done soon! And no, her hair is too long for me to braid it quickly. It'll get tangled."

"Sorry, Oishi-sempai," Sakuno apologized as she blushed fiercely.

"Oh," Ryoma said as he watched Oishi's fingers go through Sakuno's hair again and frowned. Oishi-sempai was still going too slowly for his liking.

"Nya! Momo! What do you mean that you never knew that Oishi knew how to do hair, nya?" Kikumaru demanded. "Oishi knows how braid hair even though he looks like an egg head, nya! I see him braid his sister's all the time, nya!"

"Eiji!" Oishi called out his cheeks red with embarrassment.

"Sorry, sorry, sempai!" Momo said with his hands up in a placating gesture. "Seeing this is as shocking as somehow finding out that the Mamushi suddenly likes fuzzy animals."

"What did you say about me, porcupine head?" Kaidoh demanded as grabbed Momo's shirt.

"It's exactly as I said, Mamushi," Momo snarled back as he grabbed Kaidoh's shirt.

"Mada mada dane," Ryoma said as he stepped away from the two and stepped closer to Oishi-sempai and Sakuno. "Sempai, you'd better move away before they come this way."

Before the two could get into it more, Tezuka ordered, "Both of you have too much energy- twenty laps!"

"Good morning sempai-tachi," Kachiro greeted as he, Katsuo and Horio came up to them. "Morning Ryoma-kun and Ryuzaki-chan!"

"Ano- Oishi-sempai, what are you doing with Ryuzaki's hair?" Horio asked curiously. "Are you two dating? Ow! Echizen!"

"Sorry, Horio," Ryoma said as he resumed to take off his regular's jacket.

"What? What are you talking about?" Sakuno exclaimed as she lifted her head up suddenly to look at Horio. "Ittai!"

"What? What? You're dating Ryuzaki-chan and you never told me, Oishi? Nya!" Kikumaru exclaimed as he poked Oishi in the ribs. "So Ryuzaki-chan, you like Oishi instead of Ochibi now, nya? Ow!"

"What? What?" Sakuno blushed deeply as she stared at Kikumaru-sempai. "No! No! It's nothing like that! Ittai!"

"Sorry about that," Oishi apologized as he blushed fiercely. He glared at Horio. "What are you talking about, Horio?"

Horio blushed deeply and made a small triangle with his fingers. "Ano- it's from my experience that- well-" He took a deep breath. "I heard that girls only let guys they like to touch their hair and guys will only touch the hair of the girls they like."

"Ano- and what does this have to do with dating?" Kawamura asked curiously.

"It's part of the grooming mating ritual," Inui explained as he looked at Kawamura. "Part of societal mating rituals include-"

"Mating ritual," Sakuno gasped as her face grew to a deep red.

"This has nothing to do with that, Inui!" Oishi exclaimed as his cheeks grew red. "Ryuzaki-sensei just asked me to braid her granddaughter's hair."

"That's right!" Sakuno exclaimed as she looked heatedly at Horio. "This is embarrassing, Horio-kun! Where are you getting these- these-"

"Stupid?" Ryoma supplied helpfully with a smirk. He tried to look innocent as Sakuno looked at him sharply.

"Ah- thank you, Ryoma-kun, where are you getting these stupid ideas, Horio-kun?" Sakuno demanded as she put her hands on her hips. Then a thought occurred to her. "And are you the one that started that dumb rumor that I went food shopping with my 'boyfriend'?"

Ryoma looked sharply at Horio as Fuji frowned, "What rumor is this, Sakuno-chan?"

Sakuno sighed heavily. "There's a rumor that I'm going out with a really tall guy and I went food shopping with him, Syusuke-oniisan. And all I did was to help him pick vegetables for his family's shabu shabu because he helped me in the market."

"Hardly anything to start a rumor with," Fuji said cheerfully as he looked at Horio with his eyes wide open. "Unless someone has some malicious intent behind it, eh, Horio-kun?"

"Who me?" Horio sweated as he looked at Fuji-sempai. "I would never! Really! All I wanted to know was if anyone knew who Ryuzaki was seeing- and I might have asked just Kachiro and Katsuo here!"

Katsuo nodded his head while Kachiro shook his head. "Yes, you asked us- while we were in the middle of the lunch room with all of our classmates around us."

"Mada mada dane," Ryoma snorted as he looked at Horio.

"Horio, since you seem to have a tendency to open your mouth and doing things without thinking," Inui coughed. "I think that I shall have to work on a special juice for you to correct that habit. In fact it might be two juices that I might have to make…"

Horio started to shiver. "No- that's okay, Inui-sempai! I'm sure that I'm cured by just the thought of it! I wouldn't want to trouble you at all!"

"It wouldn't be any trouble at all," Inui said as his glasses gleamed evilly. "In fact, I would only be too happy to make this for you. As a reinforcement strategy."

"And while Inui is making that for you, you can go run thirty laps to increase your stamina for it," Tezuka added. He looked at the other freshmen. "And the two of you may join him."

"Ha-Hai," Katsuo and Kachiro said as they started running laps with Horio who was bemoaning his fate.

Kawamura shook his head. "Poor Horio."

"Mada mada dane," Ryoma shrugged. He looked at Tezuka-buchou. "Buchou, you're lucky that he didn't see you and Ryuzaki in the fish store."

"Ryoma-kun!" Sakuno cried out as she looked at him with hurt in her eyes. "You know that nothing happened while we were there!"

"I didn't say anything happened," Ryoma mumbled as he pulled his hat down.

Fuji's ears perked as Inui looked at Tezuka. "Really! You two were shopping together?"

"What? What's this? Tezuka and Ryuzaki-chan were in the fish store together?" Kikumaru demanded. "Why?"

"I told you why last week, Eiji," Oishi said as he looked at his doubles partner. "Because we were eating over Ryuzaki-sensei's house because of an important meeting and Ryuzaki-chan was cooking dinner."

With a sinking feeling, Ryoma refused to look at his captain and definitely avoided Sakuno's hurt gaze. "It's not like it was me who said that you two looked like a cute couple."

"Ehhh? Someone said that Ryuzaki-chan and Tezuka look like a cute couple?" Kikumaru demanded in a loud voice.

His eyebrow twitching, Tezuka commanded, "Echizen, twenty laps now!"

"Hmm, I think that I had better make the same batch for Echizen as well," Inui mused as he wrote in his book.

"Hai," Ryoma said as he started off to jog. And all the while cursing his smart mouth.

"There done!" Oishi said as he finished braiding the tail. "I need the other rubber band now, Ryuzaki-chan."

"Here you go, sempai," Sakuno said as she offered her rubber band.

As Oishi took it, he stretched it out a bit around his fingers and then it snapped. "Oh dear, your other band snapped."

"Oh no, I don't have another one," Sakuno grimaced.

"Ano- I have a rubber band," Kawamura said as he reached into his jacket pocket and took out a pink band. He sheepishly scratched his head. "It's my sister's- I was holding it for her when I picked her up from school yesterday."

"And now you're all done," Oishi said as he finished tying her hair up.

"Thank you, Oishi-sempai," Sakuno bowed as soon as she was free. She bowed again to the gathered sempai-tachi. "And I'm sorry for disturbing your practice."

Inui smiled. "It's all right- it provided us with some morning entertainment."

"If you say so, sempai," Sakuno said as she shook her head. "Have a good practice!"

"All right, everyone, let's do laps as warm up," Tezuka ordered as soon as Sakuno left.

As everyone started to break up into groups to head towards the courts, a lone voice could be heard.

"Does this mean that Tezuka is dating Ryuzaki-chan or will be dating Ryuzaki-chan?"

"Kikumaru- thirty laps!"


	12. A Bazaar Morning

**Author's Notes (1): Still takes place before Hyotei arch, but we're getting closer! **

**Author's Notes (2): This section is dedicated to Yvie, who was kind enough to tell me what they (students) can do at school bazaars.**

**Author's Notes (3): No real hard Japanese words used and my Japanese still sucks, but I think I've already explained that. Anyway, my eyes and brain started hurting when I looked up the recipes, so I used the English translated names of the dishes from my cookbooks. Oh, and I used: sazanami: ripple.**

**Author's Notes (4): The recipes I mentioned here are real and I've used them myself.**

* * *

**Title: A Bazaar Morning**

* * *

It was just a little before seven when Sumire Ryuzaki yawned sleepily as she walked into the kitchen on autopilot.

"Morning, Obaachan!" Sakuno sang out as she looked at her grandmother with bright eyes. She immediately placed a cup of warm tea in her grandmother's hand, knowing that her grandmother would not fully awaken with out the hot beverage in her system.

Making her way towards the kitchen table, Sumire grunted a greeting before she sat down, cherishing the hot cup in her hands. Cautiously drinking a few sips, Sumire sighed in contentment as the drink started to work its magic.

As her grandmother sat drinking her tea, Sakuno resumed what she was doing since the dawning hour: packing bentos for the St. Rudolph Mini-bazaar. Humming a merry tune as her chopsticks quickly placed the gingered pork, beef sukiyaki and grilled mackerel in their aluminum containers, Sakuno looked over at the stacks of bentos she already made.

Using her fingers, she managed to count off all the dishes she made: five bentos of gingered pork with rice and vegetables, five bentos of beef sukiyaki with daikon salad, five bentos of grilled mackerel with sweet potato rice and daikon-carrot pickles, five bentos grilled unagi-don and sesame spinach; five bentos of chicken teriyaki with mild Korean kimchi; five bentos of miso simmered vegetables and inari-sushi; five bentos of homemade yam soba noodles with various toppings, five bentos of mabo-dofu and rice, five bentos of assorted tempura with spicy Korean daikon kimchi, five bentos of crispy mackerel with salted pickles and daikon rice, five bentos of assorted yakitori with red bean rice, five bentos of tonkatsu with fresh vegetables, and five bentos of homemade somen noodles and assorted toppings.

As she finished packing away the last of the bento, she made sure that the dishes for the auction were well sealed. After all it just wouldn't do to have the salt-grilled red snapper, grilled shrimp and fish kabobs, beef, pork and vegetable kabobs, phad thai, futomaki-zushi, Korean-style grilled beef and chicken, lasagna, manicotti, kushiage and tri-flavored rice, chicken satay and assorted chicken wings, yose-nabe and oden be all mixed up. She wiped her forehead as she looked at the assorted breads and mini-cakes she made the night before. At least she wouldn't have to worry about those not selling, everybody loves baked goods.

She bit her lip as she counted off the assortment of onigiri she made and wondered if ten each of the sixty types were enough to feed the St. Rudolph tennis team. Letting out a deep breath, she decided that it was not, so she started to julienne the lettuce leaves, aojiso leaves, basil leaves, mint leaves, vinegared daikon, carrots and button mushrooms with her steak knife.

"What on earth are you making now, Sa-chan," Sumire demanded as she grabbed her granddaughter's hand as she reached for more lettuce leaves. She knew better than to startle her granddaughter while she was slicing food. "And why are there so many bentos? I thought you only had to make fifteen dishes?"

Sakuno turned to look at her grandmother and smiled brightly. "Good morning Obaachan! Did you sleep well? How was your tea?"

"I slept just fine, it was the walking up to this that has me confused," Sumire said as she waved a hand at the piles of bentos. She blinked just to make sure hat they were really there. "I thought it was agreed that you only had to make fifteen dishes! What is all this?"

"Well, ah, this is really only twelve dishes, Obaachan, just put into five bentos," Sakuno said as she bit her lip.

"THIS is only twelve dishes?" Sumire repeated faintly, stunned.

"Hai, I only managed to make twelve," Sakuno said a bit anxiously. "Do you think Yuuta-oniisan and Mizuki-san would mind that I didn't make the fifteen? I decided that I didn't want to make fifteen because that's such an odd number and it's really bad to have an odd number- so I decided to only make twelve dishes and put them into five bentos each. Is that bad of me?"

"Not that I know of," Sumire said faintly as she looked at her granddaughter. "So if you're done making all the bentos, what are you making now?"

"Lunch," Sakuno said simply. "I don't think that the onigiri are enough so I'm getting ready to make fresh spring rolls. Do you think that they'll have access to hot water to soak the rice paper wrappers?"

Shaking her head, Sumire sighed. "I'm sure that they will, Sa-chan. If not, it can just be a very healthy salad. Did you eat your breakfast?"

Sakuno shook her head. "I've been nibbling at everything, but I made you some grilled mackerel with rice and some Plum-Konbu soup. And you can have that after you have your yogurt."

Sumire lifted an eyebrow. "Yogurt? Since when do I eat yogurt in the morning?"

With a militant look in her eye that was not unlike the one her Obaachan occasionally got, Sakuno lifted a small chart and pointed to the column that said, 'Must have Daily'. "Since Sanada-Bachan emailed me this yesterday." She looked at her grandmother sternly. "She also said that you need more fruit in your diet, so I got some peaches, raspberries and blueberries for you. You can use them to flavor the yogurt. And she said to cut down on your coffee and that you have to get at least an hour's more rest."

"Wonderful," Sumire sighed as she shook her head. "Let me take a shower before you and her make any more changes In my life- are you ready to stay at Azami's? She said that she would pick you up straight from St. Rudolph's today."

Her braids bobbed as Sakuno nodded her head happily. "Hai! I am ready for Obaasan! I will not be chained! Hear me roar!"

"Azami will not chain you, Sa-chan," Sumire said with some amusement. "She's just going to watch over you."

"And get the whole dojo to do that too," Sakuno said with conviction. She lifted up her hand and thumped her chest. "I, Ryuzaki Sakuno Marie, will not allow her esteemed self to be chained! I will escape the foul bonds of my ineptitude and directionally challenged self and I will rise above being babysat by all known creatures on this earth."

"And before that, she must have a very healthy breakfast to start the day or else she will never rise above her bonds," Sumire intoned. She looked at her granddaughter and tapped her nose. "Sazanami will never turn into a tsunami unless it is fed, especially this Sazanami. Understood?"

Sakuno pouted slightly. Her grandmother sure knew how to deflate a dramatic scene. "Hai, Obaachan. This sazanami will eat my breakfast."

"And I, Ryuzaki Sumire Josephina will take a shower so that the chains of dirt will not bound this old woman down," Sumire announced as she lightly thumped her hand on her ample chest. "Is anyone coming to help pile these things in the car?"

Sakuno looked at the clock on the wall. "Ah, Yuuta-oniisan and Syusuke-oniisan will be here in about an hour. Everyone else will help set up the stand."

"Good," Sumire nodded as she headed towards the living room. "Okay, I'm off! You- finish up and we'll eat together."

"Hai!" Sakuno nodded before she went back to her cutting board. She bit her lip as she made an inventory of the vegetables. "Ah! I forgot to get the alfalfa sprouts!"

**

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**

Prince

**of**

**Tennis**

**Prince**

**of**

**Tennis**

* * *

Sakuno looked at her feet as Yuuta-oniisan's eyes nearly bulged out of his eye sockets. "You made all of this?"

"My, you were certainly busy this morning, Sakuno-chan," commented Fuji Syusuke as he scratched his head in wonder. Not only were the bentos neatly stacked and labeled in four cardboard boxes, the auctioned foods were beautifully arranged on take-out platters and neatly stacked in their own individual boxes. The assorted breads and cakes were in three other boxes made to just hold baked items. Plum-Konbu soup was in four huge thermoses, held together in a milk crate. Three ice boxes were also on hand to be transported. "What do you have in the ice boxes?"

"That one has the various broths for the dishes, the other has the mango ice cream and chocolate banana sticks I made for dessert and the last ice box is keeping cool the fresh spring roll fillings," Sakuno said as she pointed to each ice box.

Bemused, Yuuta looked at his brother before her. "What's a chocolate banana stick?"

"It's a banana on a stick," Sakuno said. At his still puzzled look, Sakuno explained further. "You halve a banana and then put a stick inside it. And then put it in the freezer for twenty minutes while you melt some chocolate. After the chocolate's all melted, you dip the banana in and put any topping you want on the banana and then freeze it again. I made about thirty since I bought fifteen bananas."

"Ahh, they look so good," Syusuke marveled as he looked at the different flavored banana sticks. "Yuuta, it's filled with the toppings you like: smashed Oreo cookie, peanut crunchies, smashed mini-rice crackers, colored sprinkles, chocolate sprinkles, and gummy bears."

Yuuta looked over his aniki's shoulder then looked at Sakuno. "Ne, Sakuno-chan, can you save me an Oreo cookie and a colored sprinkle banana?"

"Ano, I saved Yuuta-oniisan's and Syusuke-oniisan's lunches in that cooler over there," Sakuno said as she pointed at the prettily decorated ice box. "We have spicy grilled shrimp; unagi kabayaki; grilled Korean-style pork; grilled king oyster mushrooms and I made wasabi and fish cake rice for Syusuke-oniisan and fried rice and yakisoba for oniisan. But I didn't make any different kind of dessert, so I put in four chocolate bananas. And I put in some limes so we can have some sparkling limeade."

"You are so cute! You take such good care of your real hero, Sakuno-chan," Syusuke said as he lightly pinched Sakuno's cheek then wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "Yuuta, aren't you glad for a little sister like Sakuno? If only Yuuta would treat me with such love!"

"Baka Aniki, I'm always happy for Sakuno-chan to be my sister," Yuuta growled as his cheeks grew red. "Now come on and help me get these things inside the car. We're going to be late."

"Ah, such a pushy hero!" Syusuke lamented cheerfully as he started to load the minivan. "No, Sakuno-chan, you did all the cooking. So you just stay put while we load up the car."

"Ano, do you think this is too little?" Sakuno asked a bit anxiously as she watched them load the minivan. She twisted the hem of her sweater as she tried to calm herself down. "I only made twelve dishes of the bentos and the foods for the auction, oniisan. I was too tired to make anymore." She smiled hopefully. "But I did make a lot of the breads and cakes Mizuki-san said to make. You think he'll be mad?"

Fuji Syusuke smiled brightly as he put his hand on Sakuno's shoulder. "I'm sure that he'll appreciate whatever you made, Sakuno-chan. And I believe that this is more than enough bento to raise money for the tennis team. Right, Yuuta?"

"Of course it is!" Yuuta said stoutly as he smiled at Sakuno's worried face. "And don't worry- I'm sure that a lot of people will buy up everything that you made and a lot of people will stop by. Right, Aniki?"

"Sure they will and I know for a fact that Tezuka and Oishi will definitely stop by," Fuji said brightly as he patted Sakuno's head. "And the others said that they would if their schedules would allow it."

Sakuno's eyes grew wide. "Really, Syusuke-oniisan?"

"Yes, really," Fuji nodded. "Even the Freshmen Trio said that they might be able to stop by- Momo's even picking up Echizen-"

"Ryo-Ryoma-kun's coming?" Sakuno's eyes went even larger. "He isn't going to buy any bento will he?"

Stopping from putting the third cooler into the minivan, Yuuta looked at Sakuno puzzled. "Why wouldn't he buy your bento?"

"Because he doesn't like my cooking," Sakuno said as she twisted the hem of her sweater even more. "He called it 'mada mada dane' when I made him a bento. So I don't cook for him when he teaches me tennis. I get him something from the stores."

Scowling, Yuuta looked at Sakuno. "What do you mean he called your bento 'mada mada dane'? When was this?"

Recognizing the signs of displeasure on his little brother's face, Syusuke coughed, "Echizen really didn't mean it, Sakuno, Yuuta."

"Mean it or not, that was a bad thing to say," Yuuta retorted with a militant look in his eye. He looked back at Sakuno. "When did this happen?"

"It happened about almost a couple of months ago, at the start of school," Sakuno said as she bit her lip. "I think that I've improved in my cooking but-"

"But nothing, Sakuno-chan, your cooking is great," Yuuta interrupted and he gave her a stern look. "Trust your oniisan on this, Sakuno-chan. Okay?"

"Ha-hai!" Sakuno said with a nod.

"Are you all ready to go?" Sumire called out as she came out from the house. "Do you have everything, Sa-chan? We still have to pick up Tomoko!"

"We're ready, Sumire-chan!" Syusuke called out from inside the mini-van. Yuuta and Sakuno stared at him, their eyes bugging. "Ah?"

"What did I say about calling me Sumire-chan?" Sakuno's grandmother demanded as she pinched both of Fuji's cheeks. "Ah?"

"Ittai-ittai-ittai," Syusuke said through his widened mouth.

"Baka Aniki," Yuuta muttered as he grabbed another ice chest and put it inside the minivan. "Sensei, we're all done!"

**

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Prince

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**Tennis**

**Prince**

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**Tennis**

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"Whaaaa? You made so much, da-ne!" Yanagisawa shouted as he looked at the back of the minivan with Atsushi Kisarazu, his doubles partner. He looked at Yuuta's little girlfriend who was hiding behind Yuuta again. "This all looks so good, da-ne!"

"Um, ano, th-thank you, Yanagisawa-san," Sakuno stuttered as she held on to Yuuta-oniisan's shirt. "I hope that you can sell all of it."

"Are you kidding, da-ne?" Yanagisawa cried out rapturously. He brought his face close to hers, not noticing the way she shrank even further into Yuuta's side. "I'm sure that we can sell all of it, da-ne!"

Yuuta was confounded by the fact that Sakuno was trying to melt into his side in an effort to stay away from Yanagisawa-sempai while the same sempai was trying his best to get closer to her. "Ah, sempai-"

"I'm glad you can, Yanagisawa," Fuji said as he placed a hand on the taller boy's shoulder. He tightened his grip and pulled him away from Sakuno. Any closer to Yuuta and the two would topple over. "So how about some help in getting the food out?"

"Sakuno, you stay still since you cooked all of this," Tomoko ordered as she popped out from behind Fuji. She frowned as she looked at the way that her friend was hiding behind Yuuta-san. "Why are you there, Sakuno? Come on and let's get that limeade started! It'll be hot today and everyone will want to drink after the set up!"

"Oh, okay, Tomo-chan!" Sakuno called out as she came from behind Yuuta-oniisan and went quickly towards Tomo-chan's side, avoiding Yanagisawa-san. "Do you think it will really sell?"

"Of course it will sell," Sumire Ryuzaki said as came out from the driver's side. "Everything that you've cooked is absolutely delicious." She looked down at Sakuno and noticed that she was really glommed on to Tomoko's side. "Why are you hiding behind Tomoko? Have you decided to become a Siamese twin with her?"

Embarrassed, Sakuno shook her head. "Ah, no, Obaachan."

"Since you made it, Ryuzaki-chan, I'm sure that it will all sell well," Atsushi Kisarazu said warmly as he looked at her. She looked really cute trying to melt into Yuuta's back in order to stay away from Shinya and she looked even cuter as she tried to avoid Shinya by staying near her friend. He grabbed a few boxes. "You should see our stand- it's going to be doozy. Come on, let's go see. Sensei, would you like to come?"

"Why not?" shrugged Ryuzaki-sensei as she patted her granddaughter's head.

**

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**

Prince

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**Tennis**

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When they reached the tennis club food station, Sakuno and Tomoko gaped as they looked at it. Like the other stands, it was tented and had a pull up entrance for those that wished to go into the tented area. Unlike the others, there was small gated area in front of the tent, complete with a trellis decorated with colored paper flowers and green ribbons. Inside the gated area that was no bigger than three tatami mats, there were three white garden tables each with two chairs. On the tables were batches of paper flowers as centerpieces with a pink tablecloth.

"My, you boys did an impressive job," Ryuzaki-sensei commented as she looked at the station.

"Thank you, sensei," Atsushi bowed politely.

"Well, what do you think, da-ne?" Yanagisawa asked as he bent over and looked at Ryuzaki-chan. "Isn't this the best station ever, da-ne?"

"A little less volume, please, Yanagisawa-kun," Ryuzaki-sensei said as she placed a hand on the loud boy's shoulder and pulled him up and away from her granddaughter who was backing into Tomoko again. "My old ears are just a tad bit sensitive right now."

"Ah, sorry, sensei, da-ne," Yanagisawa apologized as he backed away.

"So what do you think, Sakuno-chan?" Yuuta asked as he looked at her. "Tomoko-san?"

"I think this is really great, Yuuta-san," Tomoko announced as she looked at Fuji-sempai's younger brother. "It looks totally cool."

"It is so pretty," Sakuno said in wonder, her eyes so big that they looked like they took over half of her face. "It looks like a café."

"The people are going to be eating out here, while the food is in the tent on top of the tables we have in there," Atsushi pointed towards the tent. "And way in the back, we have the small private area set up complete with a mini-refrigerator and a portable gas range that you wanted."

"We also made a display for all your breads and cakes and the foods for the silent auction, plus," Akazawa said as he came out from behind the counter of the tented area with Kaneda and Nomura. He motioned at them and they both came out carrying a huge sign. "We named it Sakuno's Special Tennis Café right after you."

"Really?" Sakuno's eyes went huge as she stared at the tall St. Rudolph tennis captain. Her face went red in less than a second. "But I don't think- I mean, it's an honor, but I don't-"

"Sakuno, just say thank you," Tomoko said cheerfully as she patted her friend's shoulder. "It's great that they appreciate all the hard work that you've done."

"Indeed, you should get a lot of the credit for making their stand a success, Sakuno-chan," Fuji said cheerfully.

"Isn't that the truth," Yuuta said as he patted Sakuno's head.

"Thank you very much for the honor!" Sakuno cried out as she bowed low to Captain Akazawa.

"No, thank you," Akazawa chuckled. She looked like a chibi when she blushed like that and was so cute when her braids bounced around, too bad she was had a couple of Fuji guardians around her. He cleared his throat to get away from that thought. "Yuuta-kun, your costume is ready."

Yuuta looked at his team captain. "My costume? What costume?"

"The ones we have to wear," Kaneda said glumly as he looked at Yuuta.

Nomura nodded. "You wouldn't believe what happened after you left yesterday."

**

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**

Prince

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**Tennis**

**Prince**

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**Tennis**

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"HELL NO!" Yuuta shouted as he glared at his costume. "There is no way that I'm going to be wearing that-that-that thing!"

"You will have to wear it," Mizuki said nonchalantly as he looked at the colorful blue-and-pink kimono he held up. "Or would you like this one?"

Yuuta stared at the tan kimono that had a lively pattern of goldfishes then threw it back on to the large pile of kimonos. "Hell no, I'm not wearing that one either!"

"Yuuta-kun, you have to wear **something**, we're all wearing one," Mizuki said as he lifted up his own white kimono with purple lilacs. "It's all a part of our team spirit."

"How the hell is wearing a kimono a part of our team spirit? Why do we have to wear it?" Yuuta demanded as he glared at his sempai.

"Because Mizuki and Nomura got into a fight with Mugen and Kido yesterday while we were finishing up the booth," Akazawa said as he glared at the two culprits. "And they all made a bet that nobody can welsh on."

Groaning at the names, Yuuta shook his head. It was a well known fact through out the school that both Mizuki and Kido had a long standing rivalry with each other. It was also a known fact that Mugen and Nomura, though cousins, were both very competitive with each other. Yuuta looked at his sempai-tachi suspiciously. "What bet?"

"On who makes the most money in this bazaar," Atsushi said grimly as he looked at Nomura who was pretending to look at a green kimono. "It seems that Kido bragged that he had his cousin, who happens to be on vacation from the Culinary Institute, help them make the food for their booth. And that their food was going to be better than any meal made by a little girl."

Yuuta's eyebrow started to twitch. "Is that so?"

Yanagisawa nodded as he folded his hands behind his head. "And Nomura said it didn't matter if their cook was from the Culinary Institute or the Crappy Institute, Sakuno's meals were better than any dish their chef can dish up, da-ne."

Yuuta's eyes widened like saucers as he stared at Nomura-sempai. "Nomura-sempai, you really said that?"

"There was nothing wrong with what I said," Nomura said defensively as he looked at Yuuta. "For someone her age, she makes the best foods."

"Yep, he said that," Atsushi nodded grimly as he glared at Nomura. "And it would've been better if he left it like that- but he also had to say that Sakuno's cooking for our booth would beat out theirs by a mile."

"And we will, as long as you put on your costumes," Mizuki said impatiently as he shoved a robe at both Yuuta and Kaneda. "Hurry up."

Yuuta held on to the robe as he glared at it then demanded, "But where the hell does our wearing this fit into our booth?"

His haw hardening as he put on a yellow kimono with blue and red flowers, Akazawa glared at Nomura. "It's because Mugen took offense at the comment and somehow everything escalated into somebody saying the insult, 'Yeah, well, we can beat your booth even if we were dressed like a bunch of girls by the drama club' and the other idiot responding 'Hah, even if you were dressed like a bunch of pretty girls and coached by the drama club, that's the only thing you'd have- your looks! You can dress up our club and we'd still sell more than you!' Baka."

"And since the drama club was there, da-ne, they felt it was them that was being insulted, da-ne," Yanagisawa said as he glared at Nomura. He started to put on a dark blue kimono with pink and yellow chrysanthemums. "So they decided to clothe the both of us in kimonos and make us both sell in our booths wearing them, da-ne. If any team member is out of their kimonos, then the other team automatically wins the bet and loses twenty percent of the club's earnings to the drama club and the other club, da-ne."

"But that's not the worst of it," Nomura said as he scratched his head. "The losing team has to act as the servants for both the drama club and the winning club for three whole weeks, including weekends. I just can't serve Touya- I'll never hear the end of it!"

"Serving your cousin is the least of it, Nomura. Anyway, the drama club told the rest of the school about the bet," Atsushi said morosely as he fastened the belt for a simple beige kimono with red trimmings. "You think that Mizuki can send out gossip fast? He's got nothing compared to them."

"So we've got to wear this," Kaneda said grimly as he glared at the red kimono with green bamboo shoots. "Because the drama club will be sending out its members to spy on both clubs, just to make sure that we're not cheating."

"Oh, hell," Yuuta grimaced as he looked at the kimono. He held it up and tossed it back at Mizuki. "If I have to wear the damn thing- I want one that's either blue or silver."

**

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**

Prince

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**Tennis**

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"So this is what you do, Syusuke-oniisan," Sakuno said as she placed the cut-up limes on the bottom of the pitcher. "Then you take some sugar, more if you want it sweeter, and use this pestle and crush the limes like this."

"Here's the hot water," Tomoko said as she placed the water kettle next to her friend. She looked at Fuji-sempai. "Then you melt the sugar with a little hot water, and then add ice, some cold water and some seltzer water."

"And presto! You have sparkling limeade!" Sakuno beamed as she presented the pitcher to Syusuke-oniisan. She poured him a glass. "Taste, please!"

"I want some too!" Tomoko demanded as she practically danced in place. She stopped when Sakuno handed her a glass.

As Tomoko took a huge swig, Fuji took a cautious sip of the cold drink. His eyes widened in surprise. "It's like lemonade- but with limes and it's bubbly."

"Hai," Sakuno beamed at him. "Would you like some more, Syusuke-oniisan? I like this better than the sparkling lemonade."

"I want- Yuuta-san?" Tomoko gasped as she stared at Fuji Yuuta. "Is that really you? Why are you dressed like that?"

Sakuno and Fuji turned to look at what caused Tomoko to squeak like that… and they stared.

"Oh my," Fuji said as his eyes opened wide at sight of his younger brother. "Oh my, you didn't have to dress like this for Neesan, Yuuta."

Yuuta threw a fuming glance at his brother before he stomped over towards the tennis team's food station.

Sakuno's eyes widened as she saw Yuuta-oniisan. "Ano- Yu-Yuuta-oniisan- you're- you-"

"He's what, Sakuno-chan," Fuji prompted as a wicked light gleamed in his cerulean eyes.

His face feeling extremely hot, Yuuta lifted up a hand and glared at his brother. "Not a word more, Aniki. Not a single word."

Fuji's eyes danced with amusement as he studied at his brother, dressed in a blue kimono with a silver shooting star pattern and a long wig with braided pigtails. "But Yuuta, you look-"

"Not a word, Aniki," Yuuta glowered menacingly at his brother.

"Indeed, it would be nice if you don't say anything at all, Fuji-san," Kaneda said as he came from behind Yuuta. Fuji heard a strangling noise from both Sakuno and Tomoko as they saw the rest of the St. Rudolph tennis team: All of them dressed in kimonos and all of them wearing a wig with braided pigtails.

"Why are you all dressed in kimonos? And wigs?" Tomoko demanded as she looked at the tennis team. "Why are you cross-dressing? Is this a cosplay booth? Because if it is, you can look a lot prettier if you want to look like Sakuno."

"No, it's not and thank you, I think we look pretty enough as is it," Akazawa said as a strangled noise came out from Yuuta and Kaneda. "We're doing this as a lesson in team spirit. Isn't that right, boys? Nomura? Mizuki?"

The team muttered a weak affirmation as they looked away, their cheeks extremely red. Mizuki nodded curtly as he smiled brightly. "Of course it's a lesson in team spirit, Akazawa. What else could it be?"

"A successful attempt to scare away customers so you can eat Sakuno-chan's food?" Fuji said as innocently as he could.

Yuuta glared at his brother. "We're not that desperate."

"You know, I never thought of doing that," Nomura said as he scratched his chin. "Ittai!"

"Don't think of that," Mizuki snapped as he flexed the hand that bopped Nomura on the head. "Think only of Kido and Mugen. We must unite our spirit defeat them!"

"Right," Nomura said with a sharp nod. He walked over towards the front of their stand. "Bento- delicious bento for sale! Support the tennis club!"

Mizuki looked at his eternal rival smugly. "See, Fuji-kun? It's a promotion of team spirit."

"Or a promotion of a very bad cosplay," Fuji smiled. He smiled wider as Mizuki merely threw him an irritated glare before he smartly turned to his teammates. "Let's sell everything! Atsushi! Kaneda! Let's go! The rest of you- Finish setting up!"

As Mizuki, Kaneda and Atsushi left to advertise the tennis food station, Tomoko and Sakuno looked at each other. Sakuno cleared her throat to ask, "Ano, Yuuta-oniisan, how does dressing like girls help promote team spirit?"

Yuuta stared at Sakuno as she looked at him with a puzzled look. "It, uh, well, it's like, well-"

Clearing his throat, Fuji smiled brightly at Sakuno. "It's like this: Wearing kimonos help support team spirit because they're all wearing kimonos as a team."

Tomoko frowned. "But why don't they just wear their team uniforms?"

"Because the more they do different things together, the more spirit it creates together," Fuji answered with a smile. "Isn't that right, Yuuta?"

"Uh, yeah, that's right, what Aniki said," Yuuta said gratefully as the remaining St. Rudolph team looked at Fuji in wary admiration. He looked at Sakuno's innocent eyes and flushed as guilt ran through him. He savagely beat it down as he said gruffly, "Doing different tings makes different spirits, understand, Sakuno-chan?"

"Ano, I guess so," Sakuno said as she bit her lip. She looked up at Yuuta-oniisan. "So diversity together creates a stronger team spirit?"

"That's right." Fuji proudly beamed at her. "So what do you say to your Yuuta-oniisan?"

After thinking for a second, Sakuno raised up her hands high. "Banzai, Yuuta-oneechan! Banzai! Yuuta-oneechan! Banzai!"

**

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Author's Notes (5): Last note I promise, since this was a REALLY long chapter, I broke it up into parts. Hope you like!**


	13. A Bazaar Afternoon

**Author's Notes (1): Still takes place before Hyotei arch, but we're getting there!**

**Author's Notes (2): No real hard Japanese words used…I think. If I misused them, please forgive me.**

**Author's Notes (3): And since I don't know anything about Japanese currency and exchange rates, any reference about money, it's all done in American dollars. (I only know the base amount is called 'yen'. I could look more up about it, but that's just way too much research for just a small mention. So please forgive my laziness.)**

**Author's Notes (4): This is a direct continuation of 'A Bazaar Morning'. And yes, the boys are still in their wigs and kimonos.**

**

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Title: A Bazaar Afternoon**

* * *

Wiping his forehead, Akazawa looked at Mizuki. "So how's it going? It looks like we're doing pretty well."

"We have to be beating those lacrosse bastards, da-ne," Yanagisawa said as he looked at Mizuki. "Is my wig still on straight, da-ne?"

"Your wig's fine," Akazawa said as he looked at Yanagisawa. "How's mine?"

"A little crooked, da-ne," Yanagisawa said as he adjusted Akazawa's wig. When he was done, he looked at Mizuki. "So how's the count, da-ne?"

"I'm not sure," Mizuki frowned as he finished counting the money. "Well, we've sold almost all of the breads and cakes. And we have a pretty good amount going for the silent food auction, with the exception of the manicotti and kushiage." Mizuki lowered his voice. "But the bentos are not selling as well as I thought they would, we've only managed to sell off a little less than half of them. We've only made about four hundred dollars after expenses and it's a close to noon."

Akazawa frowned as he lowered his voice. "Why aren't the bentos selling as well?"

Mizuki frowned as he looked at the tasty bentos that were left over. Most of them were the tonkatsu, mabo dofu, gingered pork bentos. "I think that it's the weather- it's too hot to eat anything that looks 'heavy'. We need something cool to counter act their appearance or else these won't sell."

"Well, well, having a bit of trouble selling your wares, Mizuki?" called out a sneering voice.

Mizuki stiffened as he turned to look at the bane of his existence, Shiro Kido. "We're having an easier time than you are selling yours, Kido."

"Mizuki, keep it civil," Akazawa said in a low voice. He looked at the tall lacrosse captain dressed in a golden kimono with iris patterns. The handsome captain, who normally looked like a Japanese Bruce Wayne when he wasn't wearing a blonde wig and a kimono, smirked at him. "What do you want, Kido? You want a bento?"

"Why should Kido-buchou want to buy one of your bento?" demanded a voice right behind Kido. Blinking, Akazawa looked to see someone with long black tresses and dressed in a pale pink and blue kimono. For a boy, he was very pretty with his big dark eyes and pale skin. "We have the best food- and it's fresh!"

"Now, now, Tokai," Kido said as he turned to his side to look at his teammate. "Stay out of this argument between your sempai-tachi. Just because their bentos aren't as fresh or are as good as ours and aren't selling as well-"

"How dare you! Our food is fresh," called out a loud voice. The four turned to look at a small boy with pigtails who had steam coming out from his ears and behind him, some annoyed boys dressed in kimonos. "How dare you say that Sakuno didn't use the freshest and the best!"

"If they're not selling, then what else is the obvious answer, genius?" Tokai shot back. "Besides, clean your ears out- I said we have the freshest! People just love to smell the fresh food that Tendo-san is cooking. It can't compare to the stuff that you tennis-loser have!" He looked at the "girl" and sneered, "And what happened, the drama club couldn't find anything to make you look prettier so they gave you that ugly dress and wig?"

The 'girl' with pigtails narrowed her eyes at the pretty boy and started to approach him menacingly. "What did you just say, you Barbie-reject?"

"Osakada, calm down," said a taller, brown haired boy as he placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. He smiled at Tokai then at the one he called buchou. "I never knew that as a buchou you could encourage your younger teammate to act so badly towards others in your school, Kido-san. I suppose it says something about your leadership abilities."

"Yeah, it does," Tomoko agreed with a nod of her head. "It means that you suck- ittai!"

"Not a word, Osakada," warned the taller boy without looking down.

Tomoko hung her head. "Hai, Fuji-sempai."

"Kido-buchou is a great leader!" Tokai shouted as he glared at the tall boy.

"If he's so great, how come he can't shut you up?" Tomoko taunted. She winced at the tight grip on her shoulder. "Hai, sempai."

"Not a word, Tokai," Kido said as he placed a hand on Tokai's shoulder. He turned and glared at Mizuki. "We'll see at the day's end who won the bet-"

"And it will be us!" Mizuki called out, interrupting him. Feeling a presence near him, he looked down at Ryuzaki-chan's friend's angry face. "Eh?"

"Mizuki-san, I'm helping you sell Sakuno's bentos," Tomoko said heatedly. "And you're not stopping me. And I'm wearing a kimono and so is Sakuno."

"Ah, hai," Mizuki said bemusedly. The girl nodded curtly and made her way towards the back of the booth. He let out a long sigh and shuddered. "She reminds me of my oldest sister."

"If that's what your oldest sister's like, scary," Akazawa shuddered in sympathy. He felt a hand on his shoulder. "Fuji?"

"You and I are going to be talking about this bet," Fuji said with a dangerous gleam in his eye.

**

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Prince

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**Tennis**

* * *

"Whew, it's hot, da-ne!" Yanagisawa said as sat down heavily at an empty chair. Luckily, the entire tennis station was free for the moment as he wiped his forehead. He looked over at Nomura and Kaneda as they stood calling out to the passing people.

"Isn't that the truth, sempai," Yuuta agreed as he fanned himself. He looked at Sakuno-chan's friend in admiration as she sold another three bentos. Three down and another twenty more to sell, life was getting better. "Man, it's hot out here."

Mizuki came over to look at Yanagisawa and Yuuta. "Well, stop sitting and sell more bentos."

"We will as soon as we cool off, da-ne," Yanagisawa said as he gave Mizuki an annoyed look. "We're hot, da-ne."

"Yuuta-oniisan, I have something to help cool you off," Sakuno said as she came over with a frozen chocolate banana covered with gummy bears.

"Ah, Ryuzaki-chan you look so cute, da-ne! And so does your friend, da-ne!" Yanagisawa gushed as he looked at her. She was wearing a deep pink kimono with flying cranes while Osakada-san was wearing a spring green kimono with pink sakura. "Ah? What is that you got in your hands, da-ne?"

"Ah, ah, thank you Yanagisawa-san," Sakuno stammered as she bowed to him and stepper closer to Yuuta-oniisan at the same time. "Here is your chocolate banana, Yuuta-oniisan!"

"Thanks, Sakuno-chan," Yuuta said gratefully as he took it. He took a huge bite out of it and hummed with pleasure. "This is good."

"Whoo-wee, that looks so good, da-ne!" Yanagisawa cried out, causing some people to look at him. "I want one too, da-ne! Where did you get that, Ryuzaki-chan, da-ne?"

"Ano, ano, ice- ice box," Sakuno stammered as she grabbed Yuuta-oniisan's obi tightly. "I-I got- ice b-box. In-in-"

"Sempai, you're scaring her again," Yuuta said though a mouth full of cold chocolate and banana goodness. He patted Sakuno on the head. "He's really not that scary, Sakuno-chan."

"Ha-hai," Sakuno blushed as she stayed behind him.

Nomura came over to look at Yuuta. "Share with your sempai, Yuuta."

"No," Yuuta replied as he took another bite. "Go get your own, sempai."

"How can you say that to your sempai!" Nomura groused as he glared at his kohai. When Yuuta refused to answer by taking another bite, he pleaded, "Just one bite!"

"Ryuzaki-chan, where did you get that?" Kaneda demanded as he came over. His mouth was practically salivating as he watched Yuuta eat the delicious looking dessert. He mentally calculated the amount of money he had to spend and if it was his turn to have a break yet. "Can you tell me which booth is selling that?"

"I- I made it, Kaneda-san, Nomura-san," Sakuno stammered as she stayed close to Yuuta-oniisan. She just wasn't used to so much attention. "There's more inside the ice chest. I made about thirty of these and some mango ice cream to go with the team lunch."

Kaneda stared at her. "You made- ittai!" He started to sprint after them. "Sempai!"

"Sorry, Kaneda!" Nomura shouted back as he sprinted towards the tent. "Shinya!"

"Too slow, da-ne!" Yanagisawa shouted back as he disappeared into the private area of the tent.

"Mama, I want that! I want that!" called out a little boy as he pointed to Yuuta's dessert. "I want that Mama! Mama!"

"As soon as we find you some lunch," his mother promised tiredly.

Tomoko came up to the woman. "Well, we're selling some delicious bentos, ma'am." She bent down and looked at the little boy. "I have a couple of brother just about your age- they like tempura and yakitori. Do you like those?"

The little boy nodded. "I like shrimp tempura. Can I have a chocolate banana?"

"Only if you eat your lunch," Tomoko said as she looked at him sternly. "If you only eat the banana, you won't grow as big as that tall neesan over there."

The boy looked at an approaching woman. His brown eyes grew larger and larger as the woman wearing a yellow kimono with red and blue flowers grew taller and taller with each passing step. "Wow! Neesan is really, really tall! Like a tree! Like grandpa's oak tree!"

Tomoko grabbed Akazawa's arm and beamed at the little boy. "Yeah, this neesan is really tall like an oak tee!"

Puzzled at why Ryuzaki's friend was grabbing on to his arm, Akazawa looked at the small boy that was staring at him. "Uh, hi. What's going on?"

"And that's because Neesan ate her lunch like a good girl," Tomoko continued solemnly as she ignored Akazawa's question. "I didn't eat my lunch and that's why I'm short like this- I only ate my chocolate bananas."

The boy's eyes grew larger. He looked up at his mother. "Mama! I want lunch now! I eat! I eat my lunch!"

"All right," his mother said as she looked at Tomoko. "What bento do you have?"

As the woman and child followed Tomoko, Akazawa, Mizuki and Yuuta looked at Tomoko in stunned silence. Yuuta shook his head in wonder. "Man, she's good."

"She's the best seller our grade has," Sakuno said proudly as she beamed at her friend.

"Ryuzaki-chan, what did you make for the team?" Mizuki asked in dulcet tones.

"Ano, different onigiri, things for fresh spring rolls, the chocolate bananas and mango ice cream," said Sakuno as she looked at Mizuki-san.

"Fresh spring rolls? What's that?" Atsushi asked as he came over with a chocolate banana with Oreo crumbs in his mouth. He glanced at Kaneda, puzzled.

Kaneda merely shrugged as he bit into his chocolate banana covered with chopped peanuts. "No clue, sempai."

"Anyway, it sounds good," Nomura said as he bit into a banana with mini-rice crackers. He held another banana with colored sprinkles in his other hand.

"Ano, it's a spring roll that has fresh vegetables, herbs and whatever all wrapped up in a rice paper wrap," Sakuno said. At their confused looks, she sighed. "It's really delicious and refreshing. I can show you how to make it. I just need hot water to soak the rice paper wrap."

"Kaneda, grab Shinya and get her some hot water," Mizuki ordered. "Atsushi, help her set up then stay back there with her. And you-" He looked at Nomura then grabbed the uneaten banana. "Eat that banana slowly and stand in front. Make sure that the people see you and let them know we have this."

"That's mine!" Nomura protested as Mizuki took a bite out of the banana.

"You can have only one," Mizuki said as he bit into the banana again. "Well, go on- get to the entrance, Takuya."

As the four disappeared, Akazawa looked at Mizuki. "You aren't thinking of selling our lunch and desserts are you, Hajime?"

Mizuki's eyes gleamed maniacally. "I'll do whatever it takes to beat Kido and the lacrosse club, Yoshirou. Say our food isn't as fresh? It isn't as good? We'll show them!" Mizuki looked at the team captain. "Yoshirou, what are you standing there for! This is for team spirit! Grab a banana and stand out in front! Ryuzaki-chan! Yuuta! Rest time is over! Let's go!"

As Mizuki went to the tent, Akazawa looked at Yuuta and Sakuno. "Hide me some lunch before he sells it all."

**

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Prince

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**Tennis**

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"Fresh spring rolls! Come have fresh and delicious spring rolls!" called out Yuuta as he waved the tennis team's flag around. "Help support the tennis club!"

"Come and get your chocolate bananas with your bentos! We have a silent food auction! Place your bids!" Atsushi called out as he waved his flag around. "Support the tennis team."

"Oh my, don't you look cute!" called out a voice. Yuuta cringed before he turned around to look at the amused faces of his sister, brother and parents. "I couldn't quite believe it when Syusuke told me."

Yuuta glared at his older brother. "Thanks, Aniki."

"Don't be mad, Yuuta," Fuji said with a smile. "You look really very pretty." He quickly lifted up his camera and took a snap shot. "And now we have a memory of it for all time."

"Aniki!" Yuuta yelled as he glared at his brother and was about to lunge after him. He stopped when his father caught him by the waist. "Father!"

"Oh, my little boy!" Yuuta's father cried out as he hugged him and rubbed his cheek against Yuuta's. "All grown up and become a woman! I'm so proud of you!"

"Father!" Yuuta cried out as his cheeks became a fierce red and he struggled to get out of his father's bear hug. "Father, let go!"

"Now, husband, you shouldn't tease Yuuta like that," his mother said as she smiled and pulled him away from their youngest. "Syusuke told us what happened between your sempai. Is there anyway that we can help support you?"

"I can put some make-up on you if you want," Yumiko offered helpfully. Yuuta merely glared at his sister then ignored her.

"Thanks, Mother," Yuuta said as he smiled at her. "You can buy some bento or onigiri or whatever we have left. Oh, and Sakuno-chan's right there helping out- she's making the spring rolls with Kisarazu-sempai."

"Oh, that looks really good," said Yuuta's mother as she went towards the stand, dragging her husband with her.

"Are you sure that you don't want me to put on some make-up on you?" Yumiko teased as she took out her lipstick. "It could be like old times when I dressed you and Syusuke up."

"No thanks, Neesan," Yuuta said shortly as he looked at his sister warily. "You can just put that away right now. It's bad enough that Aniki has a picture of that- hey!"

"Now, it's two pictures," Syusuke said happily as he snapped another. "And three! And four!"

"Aniki! Stop that! Aniki!"

**

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Prince

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**Tennis**

* * *

"Wow, this looks so busy, doesn't it Echizen?" Momo cried out as he looked around. He sniffed the air hungrily. "And everything smells so good!"

"I suppose it does," Ryoma said with a shrug.

Momo gave him a sly look. "And I bet Ryuzaki-chan's food will even taste better, eh?"

"Maybe," Ryoma said as he brought his cap down. He felt a pair of knuckles grinding the temples of his head. "Ittai!"

"Maybe nothing!" Momo scolded as he ground his knuckles even harder. "You insulted her bento once! Don't do it again or else she'll never feed you!"

"Harder so he remembers, Momo! And you'll break her heart again if you're like that, Ochibi," Kikumaru exclaimed as he urged Momo on. "Right, Taka-san?"

"Ano, I suppose," Kawamura said as he scratched his head. He immediately felt a tennis racket in his hand and felt a powerful burning go through him. He pointed the racket under Echizen's nose. "BURNING! YES! YOU WILL HURT HER AGAIN WITH AN ATTITUDE LIKE THAT, ECHIZEN BABY! CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDE! OR ELSE!"

"Thank you, Taka-san," Inui said as he pulled the tennis racket from Kawamura's hands. "Like he said, there is a fifty-nine percent chance that Ryuzaki will feel nervous about you being here and a sixty-seven percent chance that she will try and buy you something that she did not make."

"And a hundred percent chance that she'll cry if you act like you usually do, Ochibi," Kikumaru claimed sternly. "So don't act like you usually do- be nice to her! Nyah!"

"Che," Ryoma said sourly. What was wrong with his attitude? And he was always nice to her, who else would put up with her clumsiness and her tendency to get into trouble for so long? He looked at the sempai-tachi he came with: Momo, Kikumaru, Inui and Kawamura, and decided to change the subject. "Where are Fuji-sempai, Kaidoh-sempai, Oishi-sempai and Buchou?"

"Oishi said that he'd be here with Tezuka," Kikumaru said as he looked around for something he might like. "They had to do some club stuff before they came here. Fuji said that he was coming here early with his brother and Ryuzaki-chan. Inui, where is the tennis booth, Nyah?"

"And Kaidoh said that he would show up as soon as he finished running errands for his mother," Inui said as he looked at Echizen then Kikumaru. "According to this map, the tennis club booth should be in around that corner and a few booths in."

"Hoi, hoi! Let's go!" Kikumaru cried out as he raised his arms. "I'll race you, Momo! Ochibi! Taka-san! Last one there drinks a mug of Inui-juice on Monday, Nyah!"

"Why wait until Monday?" Inui commented as his glasses gleamed dangerously. He took out a drinking thermos. "I actually have my newest super deluxe hyper remix right here."

The four took one look at the thermos and ran for their lives.

**

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**

Prince

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**Tennis**

* * *

"So where is this place," Oishi said as he looked at Tezuka. "I can't seem to see it."

"It should be around here," Tezuka said as he looked at the signs.

"Oishi! Tezuka! Over here!" called out a voice. They turned to see Fuji coming towards them. "You made it! Sakuno-chan's going to be so happy- but I think most of the bentos are sold out."

"That's good to hear," Oishi said with some relief. Tezuka nodded in agreement. "Let's go."

**

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Prince

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**Tennis**

* * *

"Fssh," Kaidoh hissed as he looked around. Where the hell was this damn booth?

"Kaidoh-sempai!" called out a voice. Kaidoh looked around and saw the girl that usually hung around sensei's granddaughter. "Are you lost?"

"Fssh," Kaidoh answered as he glared at the girl.

She laughed nervously as she scratched her head. "Ah, if you are, that's okay, sempai. It's a bit confusing here- the tennis booth is this way. Just straight ahead."

Kaidoh hissed as his kohai lead the way.

**

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Prince

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**Tennis**

* * *

"Shinya, Sakuno-chan, I'll be back," Atsushi said as he started towards the front of the tennis station. He looked at Yuuta and Kaneda. "I have to go to the toilet- Kaneda, start cleaning up and Yuuta, help Shinya count the money in the back."

"Hai," Yuuta and Kaneda said as Kisarazu left. They turned to look at Sakuno already cleaning up the tables.

"Oi, you shouldn't be doing that," Yuuta said as he looked at her and took the used bentos from her hands. "You already did too much work."

Sakuno smiled, "It's okay, Yuuta-oniisan. I can do this."

"That's really not the point, Sakuno-chan," Yuuta scolded as he flicked her forehead. He looked at his friend. "Kaneda, make sure that she doesn't do anymore."

"Right," Kaneda nodded as he looked at Ryuzaki-chan sternly. "You got that? Yuuta said no more work for you." At her crestfallen face, he sighed. "But if you want to perk up the flowers, you can, but no cleaning, no work. Okay?"

"Hai," Sakuno saluted happily as she went off to perk up the paper flowers.

"No work? Are you giving up already?" taunted a voice. Kaneda sighed quietly before he turned to look at Tokai and two of his friends from the lacrosse club. Tokai crossed his arms as he smirked. "You should, there's no way that you'll win the bet, Kaneda."

"What the hell do you want, Tokai?" Kaneda taunted. "Kido let you off his leash to go barking?"

"No more than Mizuki letting you out of his hair," Tokai shot back. Kaneda rolled his eyes as one of Toaki's friends, one with silver hair, snickered.

"At least he doesn't have to baby us," Kaneda smirked. "And speaking of hair- your wig's looking a little flat there, Tokai."

"His is still better looking than yours," said Tokai's friend on the right. He flicked back a red lock of hair. "And he can still look better than you."

Kaneda smirked. "That's not really something I want to compete in: the best looking guy in a wig and female's kimono. You can have the title for that, Tokai, or maybe your 'girlfriends' can battle it out to for you."

"If it means that we win the bet, I will," Tokai retorted as he glared at Kaneda. He smirked as he looked at the freshman cleaning the tables. "And we'll have you waiting on and cleaning up after our club like that freshman."

"So watch as we scalp you," smirked Tokai's silver haired friend as he suddenly grabbed the cleaning freshman by the shoulder and pulled hard on the wig.

Sakuno cried out when she felt herself being swung around… then let out a piercing scream as the pain of her hair being pulled hard ran through her.

"Hey! Let her go!" Kaneda shouted as he leapt towards Sakuno.

"What the hell are you doing!" Yuuta roared as he ran at the bully pulling Sakuno's hair.

"What's going on, da-ne?" shouted a voice.

**

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Prince

**of**

**Tennis**

* * *

"What's going on there?" Tomoko said aloud as she squinted. Kaidoh followed her gaze to see three guys standing belligerently in front of the St. Rudolph doubles specialist, Kaneda. An uneasy feeling filled him, so he started to walk faster. "Kaidoh-sempai?"

"Fssh, Osakada! Go find a teacher," Kaidoh hissed as he saw the four exchanged words. He started walking faster as he saw a silver haired guy reach over to Ryuzaki, swing her around to pull on her hair, making her scream. He broke into a heated run when he saw Yanagisawa and Kaneda reach for Ryuzaki while Fuji Yuuta leapt to tackle the silver haired bully who was pulling on Ryuzaki's hair, but was blocked by another guy with dark hair. Kaidoh saw Yanagisawa and Kaneda both go down in a matter of seconds when a red headed bully leapt into the fray and threw punches at the tennis players.

Leaping over the fence, Kaidoh raced towards the bully holding Ryuzaki-sensei's granddaughter hostage.

"Let go of her!" Kaidoh hissed as he brought up his fists and threw a punch that was blocked by a boy with red hair. "What kind of man are you?"

"Mind your own business!" snarled the other guy as he tackled the fierce looking teenager.

**

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**

Prince

**of**

**Tennis**

* * *

"We're almost there," Fuji said cheerfully as he led Tezuka and Oishi towards the booth. His eyes widened as he saw four familiar figures running towards them. "Isn't that-"

"Eiji! Slow down! Why are you running?" Oishi called out. The second he did, he found himself being hugged by his doubles partner.

"Oi-shi! Nyah! Save me! Inui has a super-deluxe hyper remix juice!" Kikumaru cried out as he dived behind his doubles partner. He was soon followed by Momoshiro, Echizen and Kawamura with Inui strolling behind them.

Tezuka frowned at Inui. "What's going on?"

"They wanted to race to the booth," Inui said as he shoved his glasses up his nose. "And then Eiji declared that the loser would have to drink my juice on Monday. But why wait? I have some right here."

All the Seigaku regulars took another step back behind Fuji and Tezuka as Inui presented his thermos. Without looking at his fearful team, Tezuka said, "No, thank you Inui. You may put that away, we don't want to cause a scene."

The regulars sighed with relief as Inui started to put his thermos away. Kikumaru sighed, "That was dangerous, Nyah!"

"Che! If sempai didn't want to drink it, then sempai shouldn't have suggested it," Ryoma groused. "Ittai-Ittai!"

"You really didn't say that, did you, Ochibi?" Kikumaru said as he cheerfully pinched Echizen's cheeks. "Nyah?"

"Eiji, don't hurt him so much," Oishi admonished gently.

"Do you have to race to have some?" Fuji asked as he smiled at Inui. His smile grew bigger as the data player poured him a cup. Taking a huge swig, Fuji smiled. "That was refreshing."

"That was scary," everyone else thought as a dark cloud of fear hung over them.

"Well, let's go see how the tennis team is doing," Fuji said cheerfully. As they started again, a piercing scream went through the air.

"What the hell was that?" Momo shouted as he stopped to look around at where the scream was coming from. He looked down at Echizen who looked alarmed.

"It sounded like a scream," Kawamura said as he looked around. "Tezuka! Oishi! Fuji!"

"You guys stay back!" Oishi ordered as he looked at the team. "We'll take care of it!"

"Oishi! I'm coming too!" Kikumaru declared as he ran after his partner. "Everyone let's go and rescue the girl!"

"But who's screaming?" Echizen asked as he ran after his sempai-tachi. He had a really bad feeling- that scream somehow sounded familiar.

Inui adjusted his glasses as he looked ahead of him. "That was a female's scream. And it came from the general area ahead of us." He started running ahead. "There is a high probability that it was Ryuzaki screaming."

"What?" Momo shouted as he started after Inui-sempai.

"Nyah! Look- that's Oishi! And Tezuka! And Fuji!" Kikumaru shouted as he pointed straight ahead. He broke into a dead run with his teammates following him.

As they got closer, they saw Kaidoh come out of no where and leap over the fence to tackle the silver-haired person in a kimono who was pulling Ryuzaki's braid as she clutched at her head. But he was blocked by a red-headed person in a kimono. They barely missed Ryuzaki as she crumpled to the ground, clutching her head. Grabbing the other guy's collar, Kaidoh swung his opponent around, but the guy managed to get in a fist in his face.

In a blink of an eye, it seemed that everything exploded all at once. Tezuka leapt over the fence and had somehow managed to get the silver-haired kimono wearer to let go of Ryuzaki. When Tezuka was about to help Ryuzaki up, the silver-head gave out a roar and attempted to tackle Tezuka causing him to shove her away from him.

Fuji's face looked almost demonic as he flew at the boy who was about to punch Fuji Yuuta. Never had any of the regulars seen Fuji so furious and so bloodthirsty as he was at the moment Yuuta went down. While Oishi, he grabbed hold of Kaidoh's arms just as Kaidoh was about to deliver a punishing blow to his opponent.

"Echizen! Momo! You two help Ryuzaki!" Inui ordered as he leapt over the fence with Kawamura and Kikumaru.

With Echizen a second behind him, Momo raced toward the crying girl and scooped her into his arms, taking her well away from the fight, wincing as she screamed her lungs out the moment she felt his arms around her. He held on to her tightly as she struggled against his grip. "Take it easy, Ryuzaki! It's us! It's us! Momo-sempai! Momo-sempai!"

Sakuno stopped struggling to look at the person carrying her. "Momo-sempai?"

"Hai, hai," Momo said cautiously. "You okay, Ryuzaki?"

Sakuno stared at him then promptly burst into tears.

Echizen stared at Momo as Ryuzaki bawled her eyes out. "Momo-sempai! What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" Momo yelled back. "There, there! There there!" When she wouldn't stop, he looked at Echizen desperately. "Make her stop!"

"How do I make her stop?" Echizen yelled back just as desperately as he kept looking between her and Momo's desperate face. "You make her stop! Why should I make her stop?"

"I don't know how to make her stop!" Momo yelled back. He pulled his head back, uncertain what to do. "Besides she's your cheerleader, Echizen! Make her stop! Do some- Holy! Look at Buchou go!"

**

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**

Prince

**of**

**Tennis**

* * *

The moment he cleared the fence, Kikumaru immediately grabbed Kaidoh's other arm before the boy could use it to punch out Oishi's lights. "No, no, Kaoru-chan! No punching your sempai!"

Stunned out of his anger, Kaidoh blushed, "Sempai!"

"Eiji!" Oishi cried out the second he made out who the red headed one was.

Kikumaru winked as he looked at Oishi. "Hoi, hoi! Bad Oishi! Getting into fights without me as back up! Naughty, naughty, Nyah!"

"Stop, Fujiko!" Kawamura shouted as he grabbed Fuji from behind and restrained him. The boy Fuji was fighting took the opportunity to try and come after Fuji. Kawamura quickly spun around, letting go of Fuji as he gave the boy a quick kick in the jaw, knocking him down.

The moment Kawamura let go of him, Fuji scrambled towards his semiconscious brother and shook him. "Yuuta? Are you all right, Yuuta? You're going to get a nasty shiner."

"I'm good, Aniki. I'm good," Yuuta said as he wiped his lip then winced slightly. He could feel his eye start to puff up. "Where's Sakuno? Is she all right?"

"Fuji, Yuuta-kun- are you both all right?" Kawamura demanded as he helped them up. "What happened?"

"Later, where's Sakuno?" Yuuta demanded as he looked around with his good eye.

**

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Prince

**of**

**Tennis**

* * *

As they stood protectively around a bawling Ryuzaki, Echizen and Momo stared with nearly slacked jaws as Tezuka made quick work of his opponent with a couple of well placed hits. Inui shook his head as he looked at his friend. "That was quick, Tezuka."

"He was nothing," Tezuka shrugged as he glanced at Inui. "Where's Sakuno?" His lips thinned as he saw her in Momo's arms, crying her eyes out.

"Buchou is so cool," Momo breathed in awe as Echizen nodded. He froze when he saw that Tezuka's eyes suddenly were focused on him… no not him. They were on Ryuzaki-chan as she was still crying in his arms.

Frantic, he started rocking her. "It's okay, Ryuzaki-chan! It's all okay now, Ryuzaki-chan! Momo-sempai has you!"

Alarmed at the way that Momo-sempai was shaking the crying Ryuzaki all over the place, he grabbed the dunk smasher's arms to try and hold him still. "Momo-sempai! What are you doing? You're going to make Ryuzaki sick!"

"Gotta make her stop crying! Stop crying, Ryuzaki-chan!" Momo pleaded as he rocked her even more. "Please stop crying or else Buchou will kill me!"

"Momoshiro! Enough!" Tezuka barked as he strode closer to him and Echizen. "You're going to make Sa-chan sick!"

"Sakuno! Are you all right?" Yuuta demanded as he raced past Tezuka and to his brother's teammate. He gingerly took her from Momoshiro's arms. "Sakuno-chan?"

"Yuuta, is she all right?" Fuji demanded as he was just a step behind his brother with Kawamura next to him. "Is she hurt?"

"Sakuno!" Tomoko screamed as she ran towards her friend. She grabbed on to Yuuta-kun's arms to bringer her friend down. "Are you all right? Sakuno?"

"Yuuta-oniisan?" Sakuno whimpered as she moved her head. "Yuuta-oniisan!" She flung herself at Yuuta-oniisan's waist and started crying harder.

"It's okay, you're safe now," Yuuta said softly as he patted her back. "You're safe now." He looked at Tezuka, the man looked like he was ready to chew nails and spit them out. "Ano-"

"Is she all right?" Tezuka demanded soon as he was in hearing distance.

"I'll know as soon as she stops crying," Yuuta answered softly. He gave a small shrug. "Sometime, once she gets started-"

"It's hard to make her stop," Tezuka finished with a nod. "I know." He looked down and stroked her head as she buried her face into Yuuta's chest. "Sa-chan- Sa-chan, look at me."

Blindly, Sakuno pulled her face from Yuuta-oniisan's waist at tried to look up. "Mi-Miso-nii?"

"What the hell is going on here?" shouted a loud voice.

**

* * *

Author's note (5): This got too long as well. Oh well, to be continued in the next "Bazaar Situation". Plus, if you think that Tezuka is OC with with him fighting,he probably is. That's because Iread a scanlation of PoT 10.5 and I added it into here and in the next chapter, which I'm still writing and proofing. So please bear with me. I just figured that I'd get these two out before I added more pages to them. (Yes, I said pages.)**


	14. Bazaar Situation

**Author's Notes (1): Still takes place before Hyotei arch, but we're getting closer.**

**Author's Notes (2): No real hard Japanese words used. **

**Author's Note (3): Some of the information I got off the Boy's Cloud website and a scanlation I found of PoT 10.5. I took the liberty of interpreting some parts of it.**

**

* * *

Title: Bazaar Situations**

* * *

As Inui silently took notes as he leaned on the wall of the nurse's office of St. Rudolph with Kawamura beside him, Kikumaru and Kaidoh sat quietly as the rest of the team was being treated or helping those in need of treatment. After the vice principals came running with Osakada, everyone who was involved with the melee and those that saw the whole melee start were hauled off into the inner offices of St. Rudolph to be nursed and interrogated by the adults. Only a select few were allowed to escape the interrogation, namely himself, Momoshiro and Echizen. All others were taken into the custody of the administration. 

Since they were uninjured and had no experience in healing people, Tezuka had ordered Momoshiro and Echizen to help Nomura and Kisarazu clean up the mess of the tennis station while he was supposed to keep an eye on Kaidoh and Kikumaru with the help of Kawamura. Inui sighed as he eyed his teammates; so far they were doing nothing except worry about the consequences of their actions. (It was a 95.6 percent probability that they would.) He turned back to his data book to finish up his report.

**_

* * *

Situation: Fistfight at St. Rudolph tennis station at their Mini-Bazaar _**

_**Cause: unknown**_

**_Participants Involved:_**

**_St. Rudolph: Three unknown boys from lacrosse team will add notes later; Yanagisawa, S.; Kaneda, I.; Fuji, Y._**

_**Seigaku: Ryuzaki, S.; Kaidoh, K.; Fuji, S.; Tezuka K.; Oishi, S.; Kikumaru, E.; Kawamura, T.; Inui, S. (Late participant); Momoshiro, T. (late participant); Echizen, R. (late participant)**_

_**NOTES**_

**_A) Observations: Fighting ability and Injuries_**

_**Ryuzaki, S.:** No fighting ability is apparent. Injuries: Head injury, unknown if caused by being struck in fight or by some other means._

_**Yanagisawa, S.:** No fighting ability whatsoever. Knocked out when arrived. Injuries: bruise on chin._

_**Kaneda, I.:** No fighting ability whatsoever. Knocked out when arrived. Injuries: bruise on cheek and chin._

_**Oishi, S.:** Unknown if he has any fighting ability. However, he does have quick reflexes and exceptional ability to judge on when to attack opponent. (stopped Kaidoh in mid-swing) Injuries: None._

_**Kikumaru, E.:** Unknown if he has any fighting ability. However, his quick reflexes give him an advantage in avoiding punches. (also stopped Kaidoh in mid-swing) Injuries: None._

_**Kaidoh, K.:** Very strong one-two punch. No formal training in fighting. Was about to demolish his opponent before Oishi and Kikumaru stopped him. Injuries: Blackened cheek, minor bruises on arms and slight skin damage on knuckles._

_**Fuji, S.:** No formal training in fighting, however, it is apparent that there was some experience in fighting before. Fighting ability seems to come from an innate ability. Injuries: Blacken right eye, split lip and some skin damage to knuckles._

_**Fuji, Y.:** No formal training in fighting, however, like his older brother, it is apparent that he had some experience in fighting. Has a strong right, however his guard is non-existent. Injuries: Blackened left eye, split lip and minor damage to arms, hands and swelling on chin._

_**Kawamura, T.:** Formal training in karate. Has the ability to defend and attack at the same time. Gave his attacking opponent an excellent roundhouse kick on the jaw as he threw Fuji to safety. Injuries: None._

_**Tezuka, K.:** Formal martial arts training clearly apparent (Karate? Judo? Tae-Kwon-do?). Took down his opponent in less than 20 seconds and was done with 2 quick hits on the jaw and solar plexus. Injuries: None._

**_B) Observations: Aftermath of the situation and assessments of participants_**

_-Yanagisawa mumbles incoherent phrases with his catch phrase while unconscious (i.e. "Who ate all the bananas, da-ne?" "You can't take my mango ice, da-ne.")_

_-Fuji, S.'s first instinct is to go after those attacking his brother and to attend to his brother after the altercation is over then to check on Ryuzaki, S._

_-Fuji, Y.'s first instinct is to respond to his brother then to tend to Ryuzaki, S._

_-Tezuka's first instinct is to check on Ryuzaki, S. as soon as his altercation was over_

_-Momoshiro and Echizen have no experience in handling highly emotional girls_

**_C) Additional notes and observations_**

_-Members of St. Rudolph tennis team and lacrosse team were wearing wigs and kimonos (attempt at a cosplay café?) Tennis team had wigs that were braided into pigtails, unknown if this was deliberate or not. 90 percent chance it was due to name of café (Sakuno's Special Tennis Café)_

_-There are some hints to the involvement of the school's drama club. Also, they are called as the main witnesses of what happened to start the situation._

_-Tezuka called Ryuzaki 'Sa-chan' which indicates a close but unknown relationship with her. (This bears further investigation)_

_-Ryuzaki called Tezuka 'Miso-nii'. (As of yet, it is unknown as to why she calls him that.) And it was observed that Ryuzaki preferred to cry on Tezuka instead of Fuji, Y. Support: She immediately went to him as soon as she recognized him Added note: Fuji, Y. appeared shocked that Ryuzaki would abandon him to cry on Tezuka (96.7 percent probability that had never happened to him since meeting her)_

_-Ryuzaki can cry for at least 20 minutes non-stop and is quite adept in clinging to a person Support: She has not left the side of either Fuji brothers or Tezuka_

_-Echizen is disturbed at Ryuzaki's behavior towards all three. 60.8 percent chance that he is disturbed by her emotional state; 20.7 percent chance that he is disturbed by her closeness towards all three men, 15.38 percent chance that he wishes to be the one that Ryuzaki clings to_

_-Osakada has a pair of very strong lungs; there is a personal supposition that her screaming could be heard at least 15 meters away without any help._

_-There were only two bentos left (a mabo dofu bento and a tempura bento) at the end of the situation and the bidding on the auction dishes was quite high. (The Korean grilled beef calling the highest bid and the manicotti calling the lowest bid)_

* * *

"Is there any news, Inui-sempai?" 

Inui closed his book as he looked at Momoshiro and Echizen. "Nothing yet- Oishi and Fuji are almost done and Ryuzaki is still being examined by the nurse and Principal Mitsuko went in just now. Osakada, Tezuka and Fuji's brother are still with her." Inui silently noted that Echizen pursed he lips slightly at the news. "Vice-principal Aizen is still interviewing members of the drama club and Vice-principal Yamada is interviewing the members of the lacrosse team and the tennis team. Did you clean everything up?"

Momoshiro nodded. "What there was of it, sempai, we saved what we could and threw out what we couldn't." He stretched his shoulders. "And that silent auction- it went really well. For each dish that Ryuzaki made, it earned at least thirty dollars. I was tempted to bid on a kabob dish myself, they smelled so good."

"Mada mada dane," Echizen said as he shook his head at Momo-sempai. "Ittai!"

"Just who are you saying that to?" Momo scolded. "This is what you're reduced to because you said that. The god of dates is still angry with you."

"It's not like I said that to her on purpose," Echizen said as he glared back at Momo-sempai. "And who is the god of dates anyway?"

"So what do you think is going to happen now?" Kawamura interrupted before they could get any louder. He looked at Inui. "We didn't cause the fight, but we were involved in it."

"There's a 45.8 percent chance that we will be reprimanded by Principal Mitsuko and that St. Rudolph will call Principal Hiroyuki and Ryuzaki-sensei," Inui said as he thought about it. "And there's a 30.8 percent chance that we will be punished for participating in the fight instead of stopping it."

Kikumaru frowned. "Nyah! What happened to the other twenty or something chance?"

"I need more data to know what will happen," Inui said as he looked at Kikumaru. "The deciding factor is what started the fight and what happened to Ryuzaki to make her cry like that."

As Kaidoh hissed angrily, Kawamura shook his head curtly. "They shouldn't have made her cry like that- whoever did it. Fujiko, Yuuta-kun and Tezuka are still very angry about that." His gentle brown eyes hardened. "I've never seen Tezuka use his judo outside of a competition."

His cat-like eyes sharpening, Echizen looked at Kawamura curiously. "How do you know that Buchou used judo?"

"I've seen him fight before," Kawamura said simply.

"You're kidding!" Kikumaru exclaimed as he stared at Taka-san. "Tezuka has been in brawls with other guys before?"

At the same time Echizen's eyes widened as Momo's jaw dropped. "Taka-san! Buchou has been in fights before?"

"Ii data," Inui said as he started scribbling into his data book. "I never knew that Tezuka has some delinquent tendencies."

At his teammate's astonished faces, he blinked as he realized that they were getting the wrong idea. "Delinquent tendencies? What are you guys talking about? How can you call fighting in martial arts competitions delinquent?" As they stared at him, Kawamura blinked. "Ano, you guys didn't know that his grandfather is a judo master, did you?"

When everyone shook their heads, Kawamura shrugged as he explained. "Ano, Tezuka's grandfather has a dojo and he mainly teaches judo to the police. When we were younger, Tezuka was involved in the competitions, but these days, if he's ever there, it's as a reserve competitor or he's helping out his grandfather."

"That explains those moves he did before!" Momo exclaimed as he looked at Taka-san. "That just as cool as the kick you did when you were holding Fuji-sempai!"

"Ano, that was nothing," Kawamura said as he scratched his head in embarrassment. "Nothing compared to Tezuka when he was fighting."

"Really interesting data," Inui said as he noted that down. He adjusted his glasses. "By any chance, would you have any idea why Ryuzaki calls Tezuka 'Miso-nii', Taka-san?"

Momoshiro let out a bark of laughter. "She calls Buchou what?"

**

* * *

**

Prince

**of**

**Tennis**

* * *

As the nurse examined her head, silent tears ran down Sakuno's face. She squeezed Yuuta-oniisan's hand as the nurse gingerly probed the sore spot on her head. 

"Does it hurt here?" the nurse asked gently as she lightly touched the inflamed area.

"Hai," Sakuno whispered. She squeezed Yuuta-oniisan's hand harder. "Ah!"

"Stop that, you're hurting her!" Yuuta snapped at nurse. "She was hurt enough by that idiot."

"I'm sorry Fuji-kun, but I have to determine how big her bump is," the nurse said apologetically. "But it won't be much longer. Okay?"

"Ha-hai," Sakuno sniffed as tears started coming out from her eyes again. "But the bump isn't hurting that much, it's just the pounding in my head."

The nurse wrote something down. "Well, let's see if we can get you some medicine for that." She smiled at the little girl flanked by her friends. "Then you can go, okay?"

Osakada knelt in front her friend and smiled cheerfully. "Hear that Sakuno? The torture is almost done, okay?"

"Hai," Sakuno sniffed as her body started to hitch. She started to wipe the tears that were quickly starting to roll down her cheeks. Her head really felt that it was about to explode.

Frowning at the nurse as she went to get some medicine, Tezuka motioned for Osakada to step away. "Sakuno- Sakuno, stop crying and look at me." Tezuka gently touched the side of her cheek. When she didn't respond, he made his voice firmer as he reached for under her chin. "Sa-chan, look at me."

Tezuka took out a handkerchief out from his pocket and started to wipe her face. "Shh… stop crying, it's almost over, Sa-chan. Blow."

Obediently, Sakuno blew her nose into the handkerchief. Tezuka gave her a small smile as he wiped her nose. "That's a good girl."

"Thank you," Sakuno whispered as she sniffed again. She leaned against Yuuta-oniisan's arm as she gave Miso-nii a small smile then promptly lost it a second later.

Quietly sighing, Tezuka brought out a long thin red tubular balloon. "Look what I found in my pocket." Sakuno looked at him as she tried to give him a small smile again. "What do you want me to make? Do you want a scepter? A giraffe? A bird? A dog?"

"A dog please," Sakuno sniffed as she rubbed her nose.

Osakada's jaw practically dropped as the stoic captain of the Seigaku tennis team blew the balloon up and then started to expertly twist and tie the balloon. In seconds, he was done. "Here's your dog, Sa-chan."

"Thank you, Miso-nii." Sakuno said softly as she took the dog and hugged it to her.

"Balloon animals." Yuuta looked at Tezuka in amazement. He shook his head. "You know how to make balloon animals?"

"Yes," Tezuka said shortly as he looked at Yuuta. "Is there a problem with that?"

Blinking, Yuuta shook his head slowly. "No, it's just that- well, you're Tezuka."

Tezuka lifted an eyebrow. He was about to say something when the nurse entered with an elderly man. "Nurse?"

"I'm sorry, but this is our school principal, Principal Mitsuko," the nurse said as she sat down. "He wants to talk to Sakuno-chan and Fuji-kun here about what happened." She looked at the two. "If that's all right."

Sakuno looked at the man then at Miso-nii, Yuuta-oniisan and Tomo-chan then back again. "Can they stay?"

"Of course they can as long as they don't interrupt," Principal Mitsuko said as he smiled gently. "I have most of the story and I just want to know your side of it. All right?"

Sakuno quickly nodded then winced as her head protested the movement. The principal smiled. "Now, can you tell me what happened?"

Sakuno started to tear up. "I'm so sorry but I don't know what happened." Yuuta started to pat Sakuno-chan's back as her voice started to hitch. "I don't know what happened! I was only cleaning the tables when he grabbed me and pulled my hair hard."

"Who grabbed you?" the principal asked. "Do you know who it was?"

Sakuno shook her head. "I didn't know him- but he was wearing a light blue kimono and had a silver wig."

"Do you remember anything else?" Principal Mitsuko asked as he looked at her. "Anything that happened after having your hair pulled?"

Sakuno shook her head. "I only remember yanked down and I was on the ground. Then I was being grabbed from behind. It was Momo-sempai who grabbed me."

"I see," mused Principal Mitsuko. He looked at Yuuta. "Do you know what happened? And I want total honesty, Fuji-kun."

Yuuta shrugged as he shifted uncomfortably. "I honestly don't know what happened, Principal Mitsuko. I was putting away something, my back was towards everything, and then I heard was Sakuno-chan screaming. When I turned, I saw some guy with a silver wig pulling at her hair. I was about to tackle him when his friend with black hair got in my way. We got into it and threw some punches at each other while I was trying to get to Sakuno-chan." Yuuta felt his anger rise again. "Then the next thing I knew, Kawamura-san was shaking me."

"Why didn't you call for a teacher or an adult, Fuji-kun?" Principal Mitsuko frowned.

Yuuta flushed. "Because Sakuno was already on the ground screaming- I only thought to stop the guy from hurting her."

"And he was right to do that!" Tomoko interrupted. "Who knows what that guy could have done to Sakuno if he left her to get an adult! He could have made her bald for all he knew!"

"Tomo-Tomo-chan!" Sakuno gasped as she looked at her friend's irate face.

"Or even worse!" Tomoko declared as she glared at the principal. "Last time she was in a fight that wasn't even her fault, she managed to only get away with a black eye and a sprained ankle and that was because Yuuta-san was there to stop that bully! He was a real hero that day because that guy was really about to beat her up!"

"Uh, Osakada," Yuuta tried to interrupt.

"Before she met him, she was always hurt a lot more!" Tomoko continued. "And if he had left her today, I bet she would have been hurt a lot worse even though Kaidoh-sempai was on the way to help!"

Tezuka lifted an eyebrow at the angry girl as she scolded the principal of St. Rudolph Junior High School. "Osakada-"

Tomoko pointed at an oval black and blue spot just under Sakuno's collar bone. "In fact, before Yuuta-san could save her, that guy left that bruise there and I bet you she has more on her back because he was gripping her so hard."

"Oh dear, you poor thing," Principal Mitsuko said as he looked at the little girl's bruise. "That must have hurt terribly."

"If you're so intent on the fact that Yuuta-san should have looked for a teacher, then where were all the teachers when it first started, if I may ask you that?" Tomoko asked heatedly. "They weren't around! In fact-"

"Osakada, that's enough!" Tezuka said in a loud voice. Tomoko made a squeak before she clapped her hands on her mouth. He shook his head then looked at the principal and bowed slightly. "I apologize for my kohai's rudeness."

"But not her message, eh?" Principal Mitsuko said as he lifted an eyebrow at the authoritative boy. "Well, anyway, she has a point and I believe that I have heard enough to know what happened. Thank you for your time."

As the principal was about to leave, Sakuno called out in a timid voice. "Ano- Yuuta-oniisan won't get in trouble for fighting, will he?"

Principal Mitsuko smiled gently. "I don't think so, but then I have to ask my vice principals on what they found. We'll let everyone know what the decision is shortly."

As soon as he left, the nurse came over with a small packet and a glass of water. "Here, this should help your headache."

**

* * *

**

Prince

**of**

**Tennis**

* * *

When the four emerged from the nurse's office, they were immediately surrounded by their school mates. 

"Tezuka! What happened?" Oishi asked worriedly. He glanced at Ryuzaki who was had her arms around Fuji Yuuta's waist. "Is she all right?"

"Is she feeling better, nyah?" Kikumaru asked as he came over with Oishi. He looked at Ryuzaki and saw the balloon figure in her hands. "Nyah! Oishi! The nurse made her a balloon dog! I want one, too, nyah!"

"The nurse doesn't have any balloons," Tezuka said shortly. "Did the principal let you know what's going to happen?"

"Yuuta, are you okay?" Fuji demanded as he looked over his brother and Sakuno. "Are you all right, Sakuno-chan?"

"I'm good, Aniki," Yuuta said as he scratched his head with his left hand while the other was around Sakuno's shoulder. She refused to let go of his kimono. The poor kid was still feeling lousy. "She's got some medicine and the nurse gave her a compress for her head, but she won't use it. Other than that, she's fine."

"Ah, Osakada, how's Ryuzaki-chan doing?" Momo asked as he came forward with Echizen dragged right behind him.

"She's not feeling too well, Momo-sempai," Tomoko said as she looked at him. Then Tomoko's eyes brightened as she looked at Ryoma-sama. He was just the thing that might make her smile. "Ryoma-sama! You're here! This is great! Sakuno, look, Ryoma-sama's here." She frowned as Sakuno buried her face into Yuuta's side even more. "Sakuno? What's wrong? Don't you want to see Ryoma-sama?" She started to pull at her friend's sleeve. "Sakuno?"

There was a muffled reply that no one could understand then Sakuno suddenly moved from Yuuta's side and into Tezuka's. Eyebrows were raised when Tezuka didn't make a move to push the girl away but jaws literally dropped to the ground when Tezuka knelt and Sakuno climbed on his back, her face hidden from view. Tomoko blinked, unsure of what was going on. "Sakuno? What-why?"

"Leave her be, Osakada," Tezuka said simply as he adjusted Sakuno on his back and ignored his tennis club. He looked at Oishi and continued to talk quietly to him as if nothing was amiss.

Confused, Osakada looked at Yuuta who shrugged, trying not to feel a little jealous at the way that Sakuno-chan went to Tezuka. After what happened before, in the nurse's office, he really wasn't surprised that she went on Tezuka's back, but that didn't mean that he had to like it. After all, wasn't he Sakuno-chan's oniisan? He glanced at Sakuno as she had her eyes closed, her eyebrows knitted together. He could see the tears starting to form around her eyes; the medicine had not yet kicked in to alleviate her pain.

Swallowing his petty little jealousies, Yuuta patted Tomoko-san's shoulder. "I think she's feeling a bit out of it right now and she needs quiet." He looked at his brother. "We'd better call her grandmothers and tell her to pick her up sooner, Aniki. She really isn't feeling that well."

Fuji nodded as Yuuta gently touched Sakuno's shoulder. "I'm going to call Date-sensei, now. And I'll let Sumire-chan know what happened. Okay, Sakuno-chan? Just rest." With one last pat, Yuuta left with his brother to make the call.

"Oh, Sakuno," Tomoko said as she came over to her friend, tears forming in her eyes. "It hurts that much?"

"Neh, don't you start crying now," Kawamura smiled comfortingly as he patted her shoulder. "Sakuno-chan'll be just fine, Osakada."

"Oh, you poor thing!" Momo cried out loud, his heart touched. "That was bad of them, wasn't it? Very bad!"

Kaidoh hissed and glared at his rival. "Baka! What don't you understand about being quiet?"

"Are you saying that I don't know about being quiet?" Momo demanded, incensed.

"Not now," Oishi scolded as he tried to get in between the two. "This really isn't the time."

Just as Momo and Kaidoh grabbed each other's shirts, suddenly there was an ominous, choking feeling in the air. The two sophomores turned to see a very dark aura emanating from their buchou. In a low voice with his glasses flashing, he intoned, "You will not fight here. Thirty laps on Monday morning."

"Ah, hai, buchou," the two combatants said as they hung their heads.

"Ah, poor Ryuzaki-chan," Kikumaru cried out softly. He patted her shoulder. "Do you want me to sing you to sleep, nyah? Do you want me to tell you a story, nyah? Do you want me to hold your balloon for you, nyah? Do you want some chicken soup, nyah? I know that helps me when I'm not feeling good, nyah. I can get-"

Getting the feeling that there was a slow burn growing in Tezuka, Oishi tried to distract his doubles partner. "Neh, Eiji-"

"Uh, I don't think she's up to anything like that," Kawamura interrupted as he tried to direct his friend's attention. "She just needs some rest."

"Yeah, just leave her alone, Kikumaru-sempai," Echizen said shortly as he looked at Ryuzaki burrowing into buchou's shoulders. For some reason the fact that she didn't even look at him or even say anything when Osakada brought him over made him seriously annoyed. And why was buchou acting like that? Like she was someone precious to him? It was just Ryuzaki, she couldn't be important to him, not like she was to him. _Wait a minute. Don't even go there, you baka._ He scowled at the thought. "If Ryuzaki wants to stay on buchou's back and cry-mfph!"

When Echizen looked up to see who was covering his mouth, his golden eyes widened. Inui shook his head. "There was an eighty-one percent chance that you were about to say something that would make her cry." He smiled congenially at Tezuka. "Please excuse us. Oishi, Kikumaru, Momo, come with me. Kaidoh, Taka-san, please keep Osakada company."

As Inui-sempai dragged him away, Echizen glared at Inui-sempai as best as he could- he even tried to make protesting sounds through the older boy's hand. Inui looked at the senior members of the Seigaku tennis team grimly then at the young freshman. He dropped his hands. "Echizen, I'm sorry but you will not say a thing to Ryuzaki at this time."

"Ah? Why not Inui-sempai?" Momo asked, voicing everyone's confusion.

Inui adjusted his glasses. "Because if he does; there is an 89.9 percent probability that he will make Ryuzaki cry again. If he does, there is a one hundred percent chance that Tezuka would forget about him as Seigaku's next pillar as he draws and quarters Echizen in to over a billion pieces that only the combined forces of kami, Buddha and God with an electron microscope would be able to find him. And I'm not even factoring what Fuji would do with what would be left of his body."

"Momo! Eiji! Go do something with Echizen," Oishi ordered immediately. "Now!"

"Hai, Oishi-sempai!" Momo grabbed Echizen by the collar. "Come on, Echizen! Let's help clean up some more!"

"Hey! Let go!" Ryoma shouted as he struggled to get away. "Momo-sempai!"

"Nyah! We have to save you from yourself, Ochibi!" Kikumaru shouted as he merely caught the freshman prodigy's legs and in complete understanding with Momo, who grabbed Echizen's arms, started to carry him away.

"Ittai!" Ryoma hissed as he was carried away.

**

* * *

**

Prince

**of**

**Tennis**

* * *

The room remained silent as the two adults and three groups of teens all faced each other. No one coughed. No one smiled. No one fidgeted. It was a test to see who would break down and blink first. Or rather, in this case, who would speak first. It was a time old classic trick that adults used against teens. 

Sweat trickled down Akazawa's back as he watched Mizuki out of the corner of his left eye, just to make sure that he wouldn't start anything with Kido; and Tezuka out of the corner of his right eye, just so that he could get the hell out of the away of the obviously enraged Seigaku captain.

Oishi started to sweat as he at beside Tezuka and a couple of other boys. He really wanted to say something, anything to break the silence. But to do so would violate the unwritten code of all men, don't blink in a face off. He sighed mentally. All this pressure was not good for his system, especially when Tezuka was seriously pissed off, like he was now. He glanced at his friend warily. There weren't many things in life that could really tick the guy off, but it was a sure guarantee that if you hurt a little girl named Sakuno Ryuzaki, you had better be prepared to get the hell out of Asia and run for your life.

Mugen really wanted a soda. He wanted a nice big soda with ice. It was so damn hot inside the principal's office, he was starting to sweat. He hated it in here; he really hated it in here. And not just because it was his team that was in the wrong for starting the damn fight, he really hated it because it was really hot in here. He glanced at the other people in the room, ignoring fish-eye Aizen and big nose Yamada. Mizuki was sitting, looking perfectly calm even though he had a slight maniacal look in his eye whenever he glanced at Kido. Akazawa looked as if he was going to either deck Mizuki or Kido the moment either one spoke. But the other two guys were the ones that worried him. The one with the weird hair that made him look like an egghead, he looked as if had indigestion and every so often he would be looking at the stone-faced guy next to him. He studied stone-face, his cousin called him 'Tezuka' if he remembered correctly and supposedly he was the hottest thing in the tennis world. And maybe he was, but there was nothing extra-ordinary about the guy as far as he could see. The guy had an athlete's build and the personality of a rock. So what was so special about him? Nothing that he could see, he probably could throw a decent ball. And he was still thirsty. He seriously needed a large soda with ice.

Suddenly the side door opened and in stepped Principal Mitsuko entered with three boys behind him. Everyone stood then remained standing while the principal sat down. He studied everyone with a serious face then quirked a grin at them. "My, you boys have certainly been drinking you milk. You may sit down now." As soon as they sat, he started by pointing at the lacrosse team. "Your boys were the instigators. That means for the next three weeks your team will be cleaning the school, all the athletic fields and team equipment." He pointed at the tennis team. "Your boys were defending that little girl before it turned out to be a melee. So your team has to clean out the school grounds for the next three weeks including the three koi ponds and the chapel." He looked at the Seigaku tennis team captain and vice-captain. "You and your boys were trying to even the odds and get that little girl out of harm's way. I'll call your principal and coach on Monday morning and discuss what will be done. And as for that little bet the two of you have going on, Kido-kun and Mizuki-kun…"

Principal Mitsuko looked at the two teams from St. Rudolph and frowned. "You know that gambling is not allowed. So both girls, Ryuzaki and Tendo, will receive 75 percent of your earnings after costs and expenses. And you boys will write a written thank you signed by all team members. Is that clear? Dismissed."

Tezuka immediately stood. "One second, please, Principal Mitsuko, I have a question."

"Do we have to listen to this or can we go?" Mugen demanded as he glared at Seigaku. The guy looked at him… and he swore that he could hear the clock of his life ticking away. He smiled weakly. What did he say about this guy not being extra-ordinary? "Never mind."

Tezuka ignored the lacrosse idiot and looked at the principal. "I wish to know the reason why was my kohai attacked in the first place."

A vice-principal came forward and frowned. "I don't see any reason for you to know why- you're not related to the girl and it's a matter of a need to know basis."

"Sir, I do not agree with you," Tezuka said in a quiet voice that burned with anger. "I am Tezuka Kunimitsu, third year and captain of the Seigaku tennis club. The tennis club coach is Ryuzaki Sumire, the paternal grandmother of the girl that was attacked. I am a close family friend of the girl that was attacked by a member of your student body. I must know the reason that she was attacked. Before her other grandmother arrives."

Principal Mitsuko frowned as he looked at the young tennis captain. "And who is her other grandmother?"

"What on earth happened to my granddaughter?" demanded a loud voice as the door crashed open and in came a small whirlwind in the shape of a little old lady pointing a cane. "Watabe Mitsuko, I want to whole story- why was my granddaughter attacked by your students?"

* * *

**Author's Note:** This bazaar arch just keeps getting bigger and bigger- sorry to leve you hanging, but the last part will be done as soon as I finish proofing and writing that. (Too many ideas keep coming into my head while writing this) I promise it'll be out soon, alomg with the other chapters! Hopefully no mistakes on this one! 


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